Rise to Sovereignity
by Ark Crk Thorn
Summary: Long after the ink drys on the pages of history, the struggle of one boy sparks inspiration and hope towards a legion of people... in a different story. However would that same outcome come true if Naruto's ultimate goal was to collapse the foundations of the Ninja World. This is his modest rise to sovereignty and how he defied expectations to unify the Ninja world differently.
1. Birth of the Sovereign

Prologue

It was a beautiful night, yet a haunting and horrifying scene was happening.

The moon was set high in the sky, showering the earth with an ethereal light. The light coloring the night sky with a dark regalia hue, the plants on the ground shining with myrtle, and the great beast glowing sangria at the epicenter were mixing in the veil of night. The heavens, earth, and monster were one, such beauty but site of destruction.

Legions of men and women surrounded the blood red beast, who was sitting and looking up to the moon. The great beast rose one paw as if touching the moon and caressing it with gentleness despite the empty distance between them. Until the beast slammed down on the earth creating waves released onto those men and women, the men and women fell like flies under this great beast. Scarlet liquid painted the plants and trees as the beast swirled with energy bringing death to the forest they were in; the barring screams from the humans were penetrating the still quietness of the forest. It struck the leader of those men and women at the display between two great beings of the moon and beast. Alone... Death... A cry penetrated the young father's thoughts.

His child, the father looked down to see his child. An existence, quietly slumbering, wrapped in the father's coat of white and flames. The father held the child tighter, and whispered, "Naruto, I hope one day you can forgive this foolish man who left you alone. I hope you can forgive those you meet that acted in disdain." Yet, the child was softly cooing in the dream. "What I wished the most is you will become greater than me, become greater than anyone in this world," muttered the father near the side of Naruto's ear, "I had never wrote this down, but maybe you will remember my words to you someday. Despite my cursed blood running through your veins, I am glad I could see you come into this world. Just be yourself, my son." He leaped, now facing the great beast.

As his fleeing thoughts vanished, he thought he heard the first words of his son. Surely, the gods were playing a trick with Minato.

"_I will become greater than you! Dad!" _

The father embraced the darkness.

His son would conquer anything in his way despite the evilness in their blood.

* * *

Tiny sounds ricocheted around an apartment. A ruffling there, two squeaks over here and clanking woke the light sleeper downstairs. A sudden burst, "Sss darn it, that hurt," reminded the sleeper of the resident prankster. Knowing it was the prankster, the sleeper went back to sleep, putting on earmuffs to mute the sounds off. The sleeper was anticipating for what the ninja joker was planning for today; it must be good for the boy to be working on it all night. The sleeper would have a field day when he would get to work, he felt it.

And he was right.

He came slightly late to work because with that joker; one was never too careful.

He was glad to come in late.

Everything was blue.

Not just any kind of blue, it was neon, electric blue. The desks were covered in it, the suits the secretaries have drenched blue, and even the Hokage was sporting the new trend. However, for some unknown reason, all the paperwork was saved from mess. The perfectly, _white, _finely-printed papers glared against everything else.

"Who did this doesn't know the pain of paperwork," said someone to his right. A female with curly hair and an average body, the sleeper noted, although he noticed the rather nice backside she had. Too bad, her girlfriend was glaring at him; he could have used both of them.

He couldn't hold onto his laughter anymore. He had tears after his laughing fit; everyone else was looking shock at him. It was then they saw him for the first time, and he was not painted in blue. "Why are you not blue?" said the same woman with the nice backside. The other secretaries nodded as they were curious why this one didn't suffer the same fate.

"Because I had a feeling this would happen," stated the guy, "he did woke me up in the morning."

"But don't you live with-"

"Yes, our resident prankster."

"That would mean he did this-"

"Yeah, heard him all last night and early morning. I had to put muffs to tune out the noise."

"When did he do this-"

"Probably during the morning before anyone was here."

"We are going to get-"

"Remember his name," said the latecomer, interrupting throughout the conversation. They usually called their devious member the prankster brat. He enjoyed these moments where everyone in the General Department was banding together against their infamous member of Hokage tower. It was just a pure moment of fun; he would have to thank the boy later because he wasn't bored.

"You, Uzamaki Naruto!"

The person they were talking about was currently sleeping during his class time. His heinous snoring made it, so everyone, even all the way to the headmaster's office, knew he was at class. The kids in his class were covering their ears just so they won't burst. "Naruto," said a teacher, but it was drowned out from the noises, "Naruto!" He said louder, "Naruto, wake up!" Getting irritated by his student, he launched the chalk from his hands.

The chalk was a magic bullet the students would later tell. It hit the target with such precision and force; it pushed Naruto off his chair. Finally, the other children released their hold on their ears. The teacher was about to resume his lecture when a hand shot up and slammed down the desk. "Iruka-sensei, why did ya do that for?" questioned Naruto, rubbing where the chalk firmly hit. Naruto threw back the chalk.

Except Naruto did not have the same experience as Iruka, the 'aimed' chalk didn't land anywhere near Iruka at all.

Instead it 'landed' _hard_ on a black-hair boy in the front row, most of the girls gasped at how the troublemaker hit their precious Uchiha. The guys sneered because of the small white spot on the '_oh so perfect'_ hair of the Uchiha and high-fived each other, excluding the Uchiha, at the new addition on the hairdo.

"Man, Naruto nice going," a boy, the same age as Naruto, said. He laughed, the red triangle marks spreading out. His dog on top of his head agreed with the statement by barking.

"Kiba! You better not be agreeing with Naruto-baka," rallied most of the girls and swarmed around Kiba for agreeing with Naruto and not with them. The Uchiha grabbed the freaky chalk and threw it back to Naruto, although this time Naruto did properly catch it. And this time Naruto did throw it right to Iruka, who was having a serious headache.

"Enough! Back to the lesson everyone!" His booming voice out shined any other chatter the students had, "and Naruto, you have afterschool with me."

"Ah man, why Iruka-sensei? I promise I was paying attention. I wasn't sleeping!" He did his most innocent smile and, to an added effect, locked his hands together. But knowing the boy too long, Iruka developed immunity against Naruto's evasion to trouble. His markings and gleeful eyes told a very different story.

"Then explain why do you have drool strains on your jumper? Why are there indications on your face closely resembling the buttons on your sleeves?" countered Iruka. It was a game between student and teacher; one where teacher always won.

"Ah man. Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, pouting at being found out. Naruto was not really the type to lie, but Naruto liked when Iruka made a fuss at him.

Iruka lightly tapped Naruto on the head with the class lesson sheets and said, "afterschool, Naruto." While Naruto said yes, he sulked into his seat, folding his arms although secretly happy. The lecture went on without interruptions and soon it was almost time for everyone to leave besides Naruto.

"So, Naruto, what have you been up to?" Iruka eased at his chair completely comfortable.

"Is that a trick question, Iruka-sensei. 'Cause ya know what I've been up to. Been working on that project of mine, completed it this morning," proclaimed Naruto. He was really proud of his invention. He was able to mix the paint, so the paint would not stain any paper like materials. Teach those people to have fun once and awhile, they were bores, having no fun sitting around the Tower all day.

"And how many days did you have sleep within this week?"

"Err…two," uttered Naruto. But he didn't feel at all sleepy or drowsy. Sure, there were times in the day where he closed his eyelids for long periods of time. Or he felt twitches around people and things. Or even when he felt his body heavier than usual, but those things don't result from him being sleepy. '_C'mon don'cha train hard to become the best you can be, for example becoming the best ninja to be Hokage.__'_ That's him, training to be the Hokage.

"Naruto, go to sleep," said Iruka, stressing the sentence importantly to Naruto. But, gods, sometimes he felt Naruto _purposely_ let the advices he gave go over his head. Hopefully, this time it would stick.

"Iruka-sensei, I can sleep whenever I want." Nope, it didn't stick. Okay, time to play hard ball.

"If you rest until the Final exams, I treat you to ramen until then," pressured Iruka. Iruka saw the _large _gulp on Naruto's throat. Then he saw the glee in Naruto's eyes, Iruka needed to act fat before Naruto uses something against him. "Ok-"

"When I mean rest, I mean sleep and study for the Final exams, not just training for it," finished Iruka before Naruto said okay. Naruto looked visually shocked, pausing at his _almost _okay.

"Iruka-sensei, that's not fair!"

"Naruto, this is your final time testing this test. I want you to pass, you know," said Iruka, his eyes gently looking at Naruto.

Naruto put his head down and said, "I know. And this time I won't fail ya, Iruka-sensei. After all, you are the one who recommend me to take those tests earlier." Naruto smiled at his teacher.

"Ho…how did you find out?"

"I heard some of the teachers talking about it. Ya teachs gossip a lot. They didn't see me because of my amazing and awesome ninja skills. But they were talking about ya and how ya suck as a teacher. That ya kept recommending me instead of that arrogant guy for the earlier testing, so I showed them up for ya. Because yer a totally awesome teacher!"

"When you heard them talking about me, was it the day before the huge _Stink Bomb_ incident?"

"Yeah, that's what they get for down smacking ya Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, laughing. Iruka sighed at Naruto's honesty and laughed with Naruto for him 'coming to his aid.' Iruka did recommend Naruto because the teaching ninjas would look pass Naruto's jailor status and train him properly despite his grades.

"You didn't have to do that. Naruto, you got into trouble because of that incident."

"So doesn't matter. They were getting too pig-headed for them to be talking about ya."

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto? You know what, let's have a break. You want some food?" Naruto's eyes lit up, and his mouth slightly quivered at the impending pleasure of food.

"I thought ya never ask, Iruka-sensei. Ichiraku all the way!" yelled Naruto. They shared a couple more laughing fits before journeying to their favorite ramen establishment of _fine dining. _"One miso and pork for me and Iruka-sensei, Ayame-nee-chan!" yelled out Naruto, arriving first with their regular seats already prepared when he entered. He grinned as he heard chopping and boiling coming from the kitchen.

"And an order of seaweed and some vegetables, please Ayame-san," requested Iruka. Naruto made faces at the mention of seaweed and vegetables. '_Gross, never ever order vegetables with ramen', _thought Naruto. Naruto stared at Iruka hard, but Iruka just smiled back.

"Right away, Naruto, Iruka-san." The girl server yelled at her dad to get the ramen started while she got Iruka's order. They always have the freshest ingredients out of the market. She opened a pot, and the smell of cooked vegetables ran a shiver down Naruto's spine.

"Iruka-sensei, how can ya eat that _stuff_?" asked Naruto, paling at the sight of Ayame carrying those, those things. He had to close his eyes to not see those things. Too bad too because Iruka planned it all when Naruto closed his eyes, Iruka would fed him some.

"Hi, Naruto," said Iruka, initiating his plan. Like a hawk waiting for its prey, Iruka had his chopsticks with scraps of vegetables honed on Naruto.

"Yeah, Iru-"

Pop. Iruka fed Naruto some vegetables.

Spit. Tongue cleaning. Mild shaking, Naruto almost fainted when those carrots touched his mouth. "Iruka-sensei, what are you doing!" screamed Naruto. His loud outburst disoriented many people in the place including Iruka and Ayame. Ayame was in trouble, she was carrying some bowls to some other customers when the dizzy spell hit her. Losing control of bowls, Ayame braced for impact but seeing as Iruka was a ninja teacher, he easily caught her.

"Are you okay, Ayame-san," said Iruka too close to her ears. His short breathing tickled her ears; they were turning red by the second. She was gasping at such closeness, and then her face was turning red as well. Her father coughed, not liking the position Iruka and Ayame were in.

When she finally gained control of her normal body functions, she handed both the bowls to the customers. She hurried back to the kitchen, unable to look at Iruka, or Naruto for that matter. "Iruka-sensei, why did Ayame-nee-chan ignore ya?" said Naruto curious at the reaction. Even more curious was Iruka's reaction, Iruka turned a glowing red, his skin unable to hide the redness his face was undergoing.

"N-naruto, you w-will understand when you get older," finished Iruka, not really wanting Naruto to go deeper. He stared at Iruka, not liking his teacher right now for keeping secrets from him.

"Hey, I am old enough," countered Naruto.

"If you're old enough, then eat your vegetables," said Iruka, calmly and thanked Ayame when she came back with their ramen. Naruto whined at the unfairness of it all.

"Iruka-sensei, ya can't be doing this to me!" complained Naruto, along with his miso ramen there was the _not-to-be-named_ seaweed and vegetables. He was _so _not going to eat those _unnamed things. _

"You have no choice in the matter, Naruto. This is part of your resting. Eat and maybe I will help you train," said Iruka.

The word train gave him courage to touch those _things._ "Alright, here I come!" Naruto devoured his bowl in seconds and ordered another one; he also reluctantly ate some of the vegetables. Iruka was usually so busy with other classes that he didn't have time to train Naruto. Iruka was willingly to train him, and Naruto knew he would not waste the opportunity.

Soon finishing his meal, he would wish he never agreed to Iruka's 'training'. "This is not training. This is torture, Iruka-sensei!" Piles of book aligned in front of Naruto, blocking his vision from going anywhere but books, books, and more books.

"This is part of your training, studying Naruto," explained Iruka. Iruka laughed despite the face Naruto was making.

"Ya cruel, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, but he still did his work under the watchful eye Iruka. Naruto got up and went to his closet to change clothes.

Iruka looked at the clothes, his eyes twitched, all orange as far as his eyes can see. Seeing his student into an orange shirt and pants aside of the jumper made his head hurt. He finally said, "Naruto, when you do become a genin, we are getting you some new clothes."

"Why, these work just fine," said Naruto, who went back to his studying.

"They are attention-grabbing and distracting," explained Iruka, who caught the grin on Naruto's face, "you want the attention?" Then, Iruka understood where Naruto was coming from, attention was an indication a person existed. Iruka knew that feeling when his parents died. "We are going off the point, Naruto." He quickly went back to his teacher-mode, teaching Naruto a _lot _of lessons he should have known. He promised in his head to talk to Naruto more after the Exams were done with. This routine of theirs continued well before the Exams. "Well, Naruto, I covered everything I needed to cover with you. Tomorrow is your big day, are you ready?"

"Yeah, for sure, I am going to make you proud Iruka-sensei," said Naruto confidently. But as soon as he was seated down during the Exams, nerves seeped in him. _'My last chance to make Iruka-sensei proud, I gotta make genin for him and become Hokage,' _thought Naruto. His hands started to sweat, air touching them making them cold. But as soon one of the teachers passed out the test, he found knew the answers. _'Awesome, one down two more to go,' _thought Naruto as he finished the test before time was called out.

He needed to thank Iruka later again as Iruka trained him in using weaponry. And second test was about ninja weapons, the basic weapons of all, the kunai and shuriken. He hit them, way better than the chalk, on the targets. Yet, it wasn't _perfect _as how the Uchiha got the targets, but it was good enough for Naruto to pass his that portion.

It was the last test that made his stomach hurl more. The jutsu test, he always failed this test. As he got into the room, he saw Iruka-sensei and another teacher with silver-blue hair. "Hello, Naruto, please show us the your jutsu," said Iruka formally. Naruto failed so badly at the clone jutsu; he resolved himself to do better. He aced his other techniques, the basic substitution and his twist on the transformation which caused the two proctors to have a sudden need to release their blood through their noses. These skills helped him earn his very own mark as a genin, Iruka said, "congratulations, Naruto, you're a genin now!"

"Che," the noise came from the silver-blue hair teacher that was too low for the other occupants to hear.

"Is there anything you want to say, Mizuki-sensei?"

"Nothing but good job Naruto-kun," said Mizuki.

"Thanks Sensei! Laters Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, wrapping his fingers around his new headband.

"Iruka-sensei, what does Naruto-kun mean when he said later," questioned Mizuki, eyes flaring up. Then a thought came to his head. "Iruka-sensei, I forget to tell you. The headmaster would like to see you after the exams." With that, Iruka left, seeking the headmaster.

'_Now, time for __chaos__,'_ thought the traitorous teacher.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **All character Designs and Logos are © to their respective copyright holders all credits go to them. I don't own any kind of game/anime/manga/novel, and I don't profit from any of this. This applies throughout the whole fic.

**Author's Note: ** A challenge fic that forms the overall plot of the fic, **Naruto Hates Yondaime Fic, **I don't know who issued this, if someone knows then please PM me. So credit for idea can be given. With so many Naruto fanfic out there, some ideas might have already been used, so there might be some similar ideas, characters, etc. I got inspired by works in here as well.

Please, please review since my knowledge of the _Naruto_ verse is quite limited! This is sort of canon and sort of AU, so just enjoy reading instead of nitpicking on details with canon facts 'cause I changed things around when writing in this sandbox!

But anything about grammar, structure, and spelling advice will be greatly appreciated, and any feedback will be greatly appreciated as well, but **please do point out the issues because there is a reason why I didn't see those problems ****and made those mistakes**. Unless a Beta wants to help, **I know I will be making several mistakes with grammar, spelling, and ****punctuations**** despite proofreading this**, so feedback is truly important! While this fic is in American English, words like taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, some techniques like Rasengen or bloodline limits like Byakugan will stay in their romanji forms.

Anyway, the main pairings and characters in this fic are Naruto/Hinata, Kakashi/Kurenai, Shino/Sakura. If you have a problem with any of those groupings, don't bother reviewing on why those pairings are not right for each other. **It would be a waste of time on your part to tell me to change the pairing.** There are other pairings besides those three appearing in the fic as well. Some of the pairings will slooow-burning that it would be chapters later they would get anywhere or anything!

I will also use the pov of many different characters such as Iruka, Hiruzen, Gaara, Han, Sasuke, Yuugao, etc., but those six are really the main characters for this story for the most part as such most of the chapters will focus on them. However, there will be a lot of characters introduced from canon, from the anime, from the games, and from my own creation.

Since the rating is M, there will be mature scenes, violence with aspects of detailed gore, death, etc. It is mostly M for the violence aspect considering they are ninjas! Although I am not an erotica writer, I will try to convey some scenes in a non-explicit way. There might be some mentions of m/m or f/f in a crude manner, which do not reflect my opinion. Some topics that arise from this story might offend people, but these topics are used to further character development.

The story is plot and character driven, so there are many chapters here that don't add to plot directly. However, those chapters will add to character development which the characters will affect and shape the plot in a way. For the most part, starting at chapter 4 is where the story starts picking up, so please be aware of that although chapters 1-3 do have important development for the characters.**I apologize for the slow-pacing of everything, but I find it necessary for the story. **

Speaking of plot, this fic is a mixture of different genres such as action, adventure, drama, romance, family, and friendship; however, t**he two most prominent genres ****are**** adventure and drama**. When I think about adventure, I think of just exploring and expanding the 'world' behind the plot, thus there are other chapters as well that doesn't directly affect the overall plot although the chapters will have over-arcs that will impact some of the characters. When I think about drama, I think of emotions and the actions that are fueled by those emotions. For example, some character wouldn't act according to logical thinking, so there are going to be a lot of 'dramatic' situations in this fic.

**Updating status will be irregular at best since ****I am not a prolific writer plus I am busy with other things that get in the way of writing****!** This is still a WIP, but I do know where I want to go in this. **Suggestions are fine to make, but you need to understand I write what I enjoy. **

Once again, **Review****s**** Are Welcome! **


	2. Inheritance of the Hokage

_Sigh. _

The blond exhaled as he arrived at the secret location Mizuki gave him. He opened the heavy scroll, stopping as he was marveled at the writing of the past great man before him. Mizuki told him that it was a scroll from the very first Hokage, his mission was to 'steal' it, one of the most basic missions a ninja can have.

It was too easy to steal the scroll from the tower. Being a frequent person around the Hokage tower, no one questioned his presence. Although they didn't look at him much, he knew it didn't matter. They are going to notice him there when he became the Hokage. He did think about that morning a week ago, hopefully the General Department noticed his efforts at livening up the office. They need to stop putting their noses on the paper, reading the documents, and have a little fun once in a while. He smiled imagining their blue style again. Oh well, he continued reading the scroll.

Thick with the old smell of ink, no smears or stains were made on the aging scroll. He felt the way the environment was back then. Dark, candle-lit, and the quiet sounds mellowed in the background as the first Hokage wrote techniques after techniques. Personal jutsu from the Hokage, the pits of his stomach harden and his palms sweat at such a treasure within his hands. What were the thoughts of the Hokage during this time?

He needed to focus; he had a mission to finish. Seeing the first jutsu written by the first Hokage, he studied the technique, wanting to become closer to a man whose head oversaw the entire village. One day, Naruto thought he would have his head too, seeing the grand village where he grew up. Looking at the first Hokage's writing, he saw a technique that could replace his dumb clone jutsu, yes something useful. He reminded himself of what Mizuki said to him.

_"Hello, Naruto-kun," politely said the teacher, "There is some grave news to tell you. I must ask you to return the headband." _

_"Why?" _

_"It is because you will not become a genin." _

_"Wha'cha mean?" _

_"The__ reason is __out of all the students, you had one of the better scores during the exam but the overall score also counts the average grade from your academy years. So your status as a ninja was revoked, but don't worry, it can be easily changed. You were tied with another student, that's why both Iruka-sensei and I agreed to give you two an extra exam._ _There can only be one genin __because only one team spot is still open__, _so _if you succeed my test and the other genin fails then you will be placed in __the__ team. It would make Iruka happy to know his student passed. _

_Naruto thought about it. Iruka would be proud of him and he would be a genin. _

_"So wha'cha needs me to do? But I am keeping the headband, Iruka-sensei said it is my proof as a ninja and I am going to treat this like a mission."_

_"Fine," Mizuki said, and Naruto walked away._

He erased the thought as he tried to concentrate on the scroll in front of him. Placing the scroll on the straw rug and carefully looking at the instructions, he practiced the new jutsu. One, two, three! He released his concentration as he looked at the solid clone in front of him. Nope, not enough detail, Naruto found out as the clone looked more like a fox. Tries after tries, over and over again, he continued working on it, determined at mastering this new clone jutsu.

He knew he was doing the right seals. Iruka-sensei was the one who taught him the seals until he remembered it by heart. It was one of the very first lessons in his academy life. No one previously taught him as much as Iruka, and that was why he needed to get this right for him.

A new break came when his first really looking clone looked exactly like him. It was good looking Naruto thought. But when Naruto tried to talk to him, the clone cried with a meow and a yelp. "Aaa, man, this is harder than I thought it would look like. What did Iruka-sensei say about clones again? Think about your move, it needs intent and control!" That was what he needed intent and control, he grinned to himself.

Finding his new confidence, Naruto did what he needed to do. He used intent mustering a bit of focus, remembering the words of Iruka. He laughed at the thought, "Can't wait to tell Iruka-sensei, I learned something in his class." Minutes after minutes when the minutes turned into a long span of time, Naruto let out, "Hell yeah! Now that what I am talking about, The Great Uzumaki Naruto did his first technique from the scroll!"

He looked at his finished creation, a perfectly talking solid clone of his. "What you are looking at ugly?"...What? His personality needed a little working on though. Yet another brilliant idea popped into his head, landing to one of his greatest pranks. "Jiji would so get me for this, but it would be _so_ worth it. Okay I need thirty more of these guys." After completing the requirement, he ordered sixteen of them to transform into the forbidden scroll. The sun would set soon; night would help his plan.

He released them to the forest and voiced his thoughts, "With those guys, everybody will think that's me. If one technique passes me into a genin, then if I learn more I will probably be mark as the top student. Then maybe Sakura-chan and Iruka-sensei will proud of me! And, and Sakura-chan will definitely go on a date with me since I beatSasuke." His desire solidified his resolution; he attacked the techniques of the scroll as he moved in a different location, to a place he held dearly. "I bet Mizuki-sensei would not mind."

After a while when he got to the location, the studying boy groaned. "Huh, there must be some code to all this," said Naruto, as he scratched his head in confusion after a couple of minutes when he arrived at his secret place. Some of the writings were a foreign concept. He was pretty sure he was reading the native language, but what did a howling bird stance, head of a ballet mantis and flower power have to do with a jutsu. Remembering another lesson from Iruka-sensei, man how many times has Iruka come into his head._'Iruka-sensei must have done something to me because I don't remember thinking what Iruka-sensei would say so much before. But it's alright, Iruka-sensei is dope so no worries there, except when he sometimes became fanatic, now there's a problem.'_

But that's another time; he remembered what Iruka-sensei said, "Look what's hidden beneath, that's an important concept at being a ninja, looking at secrets." Well, that was not what exactly Iruka-sensei but it was close enough, Naruto did just that. He tried to solve the mystery of the code the first Hokage was using.

After what he thought were hours, in reality just a few minutes, at trying to solve the code, Naruto was ready to pull out his hair at the intricate writing. He knew he didn't have the right code breaker at his hand; he was using an academy code breaker manual. But still he thought he got somewhere when the first part of the secret text was translated right using the code breaker, except it was another absurd line, "a sleeping dog, hidden under the wallowing oak ready to strike." Yeah, he knew the code breaker he had was not the right one. Maybe, whoever was in the position of Hokage had the right code breaker.

So he did the next best thing besides breaking the code, he would just skim to see if there was any writing he could recognize without giving him a headache. As he further opened the scroll, the writing from one section to the other section was different. The first section was uniform and steady like wood but the next section the writing was more flowing, watery in nature. Naruto looked down to see the signature and he thought he would have a heart attack. The second Hokage also wrote something in the scroll, he couldn't believe two Hokages wrote on the same scroll. Now Naruto realized why such a scroll was guarded by the seating Hokage.

But now the question was why would Mizuki-sensei use the scroll for when it could get stolen by enemy ninjas? But it didn't matter for now; Naruto would want to know what kind of technique the old second Hokage wrote down. "Holy, that's just cool!" said Naruto, reading the rest of the description, "I can totally get a bad ass weapon now." One step closer to being the next Hokage after Jiji, except right at the moment, he didn't have the right materials. But he did have some ink and paper, always handy materials for pranksters worldwide.

He wrote down the instructions step by step and as clearly as he can because he had messy writing. Although, the last material was weird as it stated, "The body of a great ninja," Naruto thought it meant to use his blood. You know because he was great and he knew it.

But his fun ran out as the same weird code appeared again just when he thought he could learn some more jutsu from the Second. He skimmed the section again, only to stop when he was faced with something shocking. Jiji also wrote in the scroll that meant three leaders of their village wrote in the very same scroll.

He recognized the morphing writing of the Third; it was changing yet everything in the same time, somehow that made sense in his mind. Jiji was called the 'The Professor' for mastering the jutsu over jutsu, and his writing kind of reflected to Jiji's achievement. He couldn't wait for what Jiji put in the scroll; there must be millions of skills he wrote down. Wow, just wow, Naruto thought as he couldn't keep his excitement any longer.

Even Jiji knew cool techniques as he read the first skill, it ticked him off that Jiji wouldn't teach this sooner.

The first skill Jiji put was totally wicked, manipulating the surrounding environment into a physical projectile. It was a technique that can be used at any length or distance as long as the caster has a clear idea of where to shoot. It was most definitely used for attacking or even assassination which is what the description depicted. Naruto thought about it, by combining this jutsu with the _Shadow Clone _skill, he can really have some of his clones do some heavy damage. It was going to be awesome he felt in his veins, the blood pounding against the walls. He knew, for sure, he will be the number one rookie ninja if he mastered this, and he could totally show Jiji when he got it down.

Then a thought came to Naruto. If three Hokage wrote on here then the last Hokage might have scribbled something down here too, the temptation of finding out if the Fourth Hokage did write some of his knowledge down was too great to pass up. So, naturally, Naruto wrote the basic instructions down and hand-seals down in his handy pad. Skimming over the Third's section, he went over straight to the Fourth's section.

Why not, this was the Fourth Hokage, the only man ever to defeat the Kyuubi, the monster of legends.

Seriously the man, one man, the only man to manage to kill a tailed beast, the very same man might have wrote down his methods.

If that is the case, then Naruto will undoubtedly become the Hokage. Although once he looked at the section, it was empty. No writing, no trances of ink, just nothing, Naruto was confused. But his initial observation was wrong, there was something but it wasn't something he recognized immediately. There was a seal, not a hand-seal but a carved seal, a written seal. Jiji always told him that the Fourth was someone who used seals as his weapon. Naruto admired the Fourth even more as ninja seals were one of the ninja arts hardest to master, yet from what Jiji told Naruto the Fourth was breathing and living with seals.

His candle was flickering, a dim light against the growing darkness of the village evening. He reached to his back pocket again, only this time to get the matches he had from there. Except while fiddling within the pocket, an unused, sharp kunai he had scratched the surface of his fingers. Scraping it enough to draw blood, Naruto recoiled back, licking his wounds. But by doing so, some of his blood scattered across parts of the Fourth's seal. The parts touched by his blood started to glow, and Naruto didn't know what to do with it. He was about to run from the scroll when...

* * *

Meanwhile, the other ninjas were chasing the evasive Naruto as he rampaged through the village. Every time they tried capturing him, he would manage to slip away. And when they did catch Naruto, he would vanish only to reappear again. They couldn't exactly use their weapons or ninjutsu under the commands of the Third. One wrong move, and they would have to deal with the wrath of the Third, no questions or excuses were allowed. So they tried to do their best without relying on their normal methods of capture. They did not know Naruto mastered the _Shadow Clone_ skill.

One of the Naruto didn't play with the others as it was his first time outside; he wanted to something different compare to what the original Naruto kept doing usually. His partner also wanted to get away from what everyone else was doing, so his partner went to the Academy. The _non-scrolled_ Naruto decided to explore one of Naruto's secret desires, which was gardening. Roaming around, he eventually came onto a field of flowers, just past a fence from a clan estate. To most eyes, the field couldn't be compare to the grand, demanding attention mansion.

But to Naruto, the garden was peaceful. To him, the garden sharply contrasted the manor; it didn't demand attention but instead mellowed onto the background. It was far different from the original Naruto, the garden was quiet and calm, and maybe that is why this Naruto was drawn to it.

As he got closer, the greater the contrast between the garden and manor became. Even when the last rays of sun set, Naruto can easily tell which one was more beautiful in his opinion. The manor was formed and stylized grandly, from the rich wooden floors to the imported white walls. The mansion was set ablaze with the fading light; the white walls and pillars dyed red. The paper screens burning and a fire moving through the mansion, it couldn't compare to the glory of the small, tiny garden.

The flowers glowed under the light, a feast for people watching the scene unfold before them. The rays were caught through the delicate flowers, shining and alive. It was not the burning building but a thriving wonderland as if the field lit like a dancer through the night. Beautiful and breath-taking, Naruto heard a melody.

A gentle voice sang around the field. It didn't come from the dead quiet manor, whose occupants walked like shadows. Shivers ran down his spine at the lyrics of the song, a song of happiness. The song was filled with happiness yet the voice carried none of its enjoy; the voice just sang from the utter loneliness. Naruto knew he was getting closer as he vaguely thought he heard that voice from before. He hid behind a tree, nesting near the field just as the singer turned around.

The singer was enjoying her time with her mother's garden. There was something about gardening just before the dusk; it made her feel connected with nature more.

No one around, everyone heading to their homes for the night, just the flowers and her in the fleeing radiance of the sun, she loves gardening during this time.

She spun around, feeling someone was watching her. She activated the powers of her bloodline and searched out the invader. She found the person, hiding behind the old oak tree. She started gathering charka around her hands, and shouted to the person, "I k-know y-you're t-there, p-please c-come o-out." She was going to be okay, she was near enough to the Hyuuga estate the guards would hear her.

It was probably the most mesmerizing sight in the short life of the clone. The darken light complimented her fragile statue, her ivory skin, her moon-drop spheres and ebony hair framing her innocent face. The girl, her eyes pinpointing his tiny gestures, was intense against the early dusk. An unknown pressure built on the pits of the clone's stomach. She knew he was here.

He moved from the tree, what else can he do? But he saw more of the maiden of the dusk, which he thought was a fair trade. Her eyes was hypnotizing as if he was seeing three moons on the darkening sky; the pressure continued to build up. He wanted to groan at the reaction he was having, but it would scare off the dusk doll maiden. He held it in just enough to hear her gasp. He knew it because once people recognized him; they act all differently.

"N-naruto-k-kun, w-why a-are y-y-you h-here?" questioned Hinata. She didn't even think of the possibilities that the unknown person was Naruto. She knew Naruto liked exploring the village, but no one would wander so near the Hyuuga estate. But this was Naruto; he was probably the only one who would do just that to prove to everyone.

"Hi, how do you know my name…" said Naruto, instantly regretting it. There was something familiar with this girl, but the time he got a sense where he saw her, his big mouth already asked her. "Sorry, but who are you?"

She knew Naruto didn't know her, she couldn't compare to some bright sun like Sakura; she was just a waning moon. Her face probably reflected her reaction because when Naruto started getting closer she bit her lips; she needed to act better as a Hyuuga.

"I get the feeling, I seen you somewhere before but I don't know where?" She couldn't believe her ears, she must be hearing things. This would mean Naruto-kun has seen her, she wanted to faint right there. "So tell me your name, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"I-I'm H-Hin -"

"_You all heard me! The name's the Great Uzumaki Naruto!" _

"W-who a-are you? You're not Naruto-kun," said Hinata meekly, as she backed away from invader. She didn't know what to think, the invader looked like Naruto from everything to the sun-kissed hair, the sharp birthmarks marring his face, to those deep ocean-blue eyes.

But somehow her guts were telling this 'Naruto' was different from Naruto-kun.

"Wait, don't run please. You're right. I am not the original Naruto. I am actually his Shadow Clone. Well, one of his Shadow Clones," said Naruto. It made sense to her now, a Shadow Clone has the same principles and features as their castor. One of her tutors taught her the description of the _Shadow Clone _technique. She knew this because her father wanted her to have the vast knowledge of the clan in her disposal.

She calmed herself, she breathe in, "How did Naruto-kun learn the _Shadow_ _Clone_?" In all her time watching Naruto, she has never seen him practicing the _Shadow Clone. _Although she did not know the exact seals of the_ Shadow Clone, _Naruto-kun would have been too excited and proclaiming it during his training. Now that she thought about it, this Naruto was too calm especially sneaking around.

"He just learned it an hour ago."

"Umm, if it this not too much to ask…But what are you, ummm Naruto, doing here?" She was starting to feel relaxed with this Naruto. His presence was really tranquil to her, yet she couldn't help the blush forming on her face.

"You see with Naruto learning the technique, he gave us the choice to explore the village. We were created just an hour ago. We just wanted to experience something different compared to the original Naruto. So when I just wandering around, I stumbled onto this place," said the Naruto clone. He scratched his head, slightly embarrassed talking about this to a person already who found out his secret.

"If you don't mind, do you want to talk?" Somehow, Hinata was getting the feeling this Naruto was lonely, maybe, the original Naruto was also lonely as well. She should do something instead of just watching him in the dark. So, this was the reason why she asked if he wanted to talk.

"Of course I do. Sorry but is your name," said Naruto with the tips of his mouth curving upwards.

She reflected the same action although a feeling ran throughout her body made her nervous with this Naruto and said, "M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata."

* * *

The Konoha ninjas were getting too annoyed at the dodgy Naruto. It was annoying, each time they caught one, there would be a puff and he was gone. Then he would appear in another district across town, where they had to get him, chasing for hours and hours. They were adroit on killing and capturing, yet they could not catch one measly freshly genin.

Seeing the other ninjas could not find the brat, Mizuki gained more hope at catching that annoying fox. The stupid boy even forgot they were suppose to meet. He needed to move quickly, and he saw the monster exploring his workplace. Seeing the boy, he approached Naruto. "Naruto, what are you doing here?" said the teacher.

"Yo, Mizuki-sensei, I so totally got a technique," said Naruto excitingly. Good, thought Mizuki, this was probably the real brat.

"Good, I knew you could do it Naruto. Now just hand over the scroll and you will be on your way to being a ninja of the village," said Mizuki, opening his fingers to receive the scroll.

"Wait, I thought we were suppose to go to Iruka-sensei first! I want to show him the technique I learned, and I know he will be proud." Naruto made no movement to come closer to the man. Naruto looked at his teacher and said, "and don't you want to see what kind of technique I would show Iruka-sensei?"

This brat. "Naruto-kun, I will hand the assessment to Iruka. I will just need to check if you really have the scroll," Mizuki said, practically forcing down the bile by being polite to the brat. If the boy would not come in a few more moments, he will have to get the scroll himself. Discreetly moving his left arm to his back, he reached to his weapon, fingering the smooth edges of his kunai in his poach. "Come here, Naruto-kun, so you can finally passed as a ninja."

"Wait, I think I see Iruka-sensei!" Sure enough, Mizuki saw his freaking ass colleague with his fucking ass perfect timing. He slid his arms out in the open. He needed to time this right unless he wanted to be exposed even before he got out of the village.

"Naruto! You are in trouble!" yelled out Iruka. Naruto had to smile, Iruka was the only teacher that showed concern for him. Sure, Iruka would get loud and all, but it showed Naruto how Iruka cared for him. This Naruto knew the true feelings the original Naruto had for his teacher who taught him everything despite teaching other students. Before he could waved to Iruka, he felt a sting in his shoulder blade.

Then, smoke replaced where Naruto was standing.

Mizuki couldn't believe it. The brat just poofed! He was talking to a clone before! He fucking thought he had the real brat, just what kind of jutsu did the brat learned that made his clones real?. He had it all figured out. He would harm the brat for a bit to prevent him from talking. Then, he would ask Iruka to escort the brat to the Hokage while he got the scroll and away from the village. He quickly took back his weapon before Iruka saw. Mizuki was quickly realizing his plan was crumbling to an annoying monster. When Iruka arrived, Mizuki tried to act to be in shock. "I was just holding him," he said with a perfectly timed jaw drop.

"Naruto must have learned a new jutsu," said Iruka, who was standing far too close to Mizuki. Mizuki thought his plans would be revealed by this person. Glancing around, he did not see others, and he reached for his weapon again. Mizuki needed to calm down and think of his next plan, especially how to get out of the village without anyone knowing. He saw Iruka turn his back while Mizuki was ready to strike, but a yelled alerted Iruka. "Iruka! The scouts reported Naruto has gone to the forest," said another teacher from the academy. Like lighting, Iruka raced to the forest despite not asking which way.

Iruka was extremely worried for Naruto because not long ago the Hokage issued an emergency order to track down on Naruto. The Third ordered them to bring back Naruto using non-lethal means. However, that did not reassure Iruka because he knew sometimes ninjas would act against orders depending on the situation. He had to be the first one who would find Naruto. Seeing the sun-kissed hair, he hoped it was Naruto.

"Naruto! You are in trouble!" yelled out Iruka. He vaguely thought he heard himself say that once before.

"Iruka-sensei! You would not believe what I learned today!" Naruto shouted. "I am so becoming the Rookie of the Year when I let you see what I can do! I made you proud Iruka!" In his elation to finally becoming a ninja, Naruto forgot to put the honorific for Iruka.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"It is okay, Iruka-sensei. You don't have to mess around anymore; I know all about the extra exam. Man, Iruka-sensei if I knew I was going to have a practical exam before becoming into a genin, I wouldn't need those studying times," said Naruto, grinning. What was Naruto talking about? What extra exam? Naruto was already a genin as far as Iruka was concern.

"What extra exam? Naruto you are holding a very dangerous scroll, and the Hokage assembled some ninjas to search for you. You holding the headband is already prove you are a ninja," said Iruka, who was wondering why Naruto thought this emergency was an exam.

"Wait, ya telling me this is not a mock exam!?" Confusion emerged from Naruto. If this was really happening, then that meant the original Naruto was endangering the village by playing more with the scroll. The clone thought he needed to warn the original. The clone Naruto was about to go to the direction of where real Naruto was when ninjas descended. The clone was screwed; there was no way in hell he would be able to escape without warning Naruto. "Iruka-sensei! The garden!"

Iruka nodded, completely understanding the Naruto before him was a clone. The garden was something Naruto and Iruka knew about, and it was a place Naruto rarely used unless to water the plants growing there. It was their secret place. He quickly run while the other ninjas were distracted with the clone.

However, he was followed by the mastermind behind the orchestration of Naruto stealing the scroll.

* * *

The higher ranking jounin members, especially one certain copy ninja, were mildly impressed at display of hardship their fellow ninjas were having. They already knew what technique the boy had acquired, and they were stunned at a developing genin. At the center of the jounin was the Hokage, using his crystal ball. Except the damn thing cannot pinpoint the real Naruto anywhere!

He was growing worried at the length of time since Naruto had taken the scroll. Despite his warning towards the ninjas about harming original Naruto, they can use any means to capture Naruto if enough time has passed and depending on the threat of Naruto. He needed to catch Naruto now before anything else happened to the boy.

He saw through his crystal ball a group of ninjas stalking Naruto with the Hyuuga heiress. He wished he could hear what they were talking about. Hopefully, the ninjas don't do anything idiotic with the Hyuuga clan. He rather not clean up any disruptions.

"Komachi, identity those two," said the leader of the group, cursing his short sight.

"One of them is the target we are looking for while the other is the first born of the main family of the Hyuuga clan, Towa." The leader nodded, and he understood they need to move carefully. Despite the high discipline the Hyuuga was known for, touching a royalty of Hyuuga would not end well.

"I will lead with Komachi. The rest of you be on standby," ordered the leader, who wanted to have settle everything low key. Not wasting any time, Towa and Komachi were approaching the children. Even before they were in within the reach most chunin could detect, the Hyuuga heiress turned towards them.

"Good evening, ANBU-san," said the Hyuuga. Her partner, who was laughing, suddenly stopped, and he turned to where Hinata was talking to. Naruto blinked at why it seemed the ANBU were looking for him.

"Good evening," said Towa, "we request the attendance of Uzumaki Naruto. We need him for an investigation." Then, it clicked on Naruto about the scroll. Shit, he needed to get away. He did not want them to find Naruto. '_But, dang, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei were really going full on with the test, especially getting the ANBU __to play along.__'_

When Naruto looked over to Hinata, he saw something only people gave others: concern, compassion, and candor. "Naruto," said the Hyuuga heiress with anxiety, "are you in trouble?" She knew ANBU asking for an investigation is akin to Naruto doing something dangerous. Naruto was not that type of person. Sure, he would do pranks around the village, but the pranks were never dangerous or hurt anyone.

"Nothing to worry about, Hyuuga-sama. We just need him to come with us, and it won't take long," said Komachi. Hinata cowered because despite the voice was calm, an underlying command was laced with the other ninja. Fearing for his safety, Hinata grabbed hold of Naruto's shirt. She knew he was a clone, but Naruto being danger is something inconceivable in her mind. She knew ninjas led a dangerous life, but she wasn't ready just yet.

"Nah, don't worry Hinata-chan. It is all part of the plan," said Naruto, who gotten closer to the girl. The clone had remembered what the original thought of the girl in his class. But after spending time with her, the clone was confident Hinata was kind and gentle, and he didn't want her to get into trouble for his exam. He started reaching his side pockets when a barrage of ninja projectiles came toward Naruto. The last thing the clone saw was the shock face of Hinata.

Hinata screamed at the disappearance of Naruto despite knowing he was just a clone; she did not expect for kunai to come from ANBU to a freshly graduated genin. "Damnit, who the fuck threw that shit!" the leader yelled at the people he ordered to standby. It went down hill for the small ANBU team as the Hyuuga guards came rapidly hearing the heiress cry of distress.

"Hinata-sama, are you well?" said her personal protector. He had two other guards with him, and more guards will be coming in a couple of seconds. "What have you done to Hinata-sama, ANBU." He was already in his fighting stance; he needed one call from the princess to act against the ANBU.

This was the reason why Towa only had Komachi accompanied him because he trusted Komachi, but now it was a mess. Who shot the boy he wondered, but what was more important was dealing with the situation with the Hyuuga clan. "We meant no harm. We only wanted the boy to come with us. I believe one of the ANBU misread the boy's intentions because the boy was going for his side pockets."

"You must have one immature ANBU," spat Hinata's protector, "go now unless you are also here to talk to Hyuuga-sama." Towa saw the rest of the Hyuuga guards with the lord of the Hyuuga clan coming towards his party, and he nodded before snapping his fingers to signal the ANBU to continue their search for the boy. "Hinata-sama, has any of the ANBU touched you?"

"No. Thank you, Kō-san. Thank you everyone," said Hinata gratefully despite the image of Naruto popping out of existence stuck in her mind. She bit her lips and prayed in her mind that Naruto would be safe.

* * *

It was a mistake! Everything was a mistake! It could not be true! These thoughts were running wild in Naruto. There was no way he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, and the worst part was he was a fucking jailer to the nine tail fucking beast. He wanted to rip the plants off the ground.

But they were innocent, and he would waste both Iruka-sensei's and his work by doing that. Stinging irritated his eyes, and he was feeling the moisture gathering at the edge of his eyes.

He would not accept that fate!

As he stared down the small garden, he was wishing these flowers could talk to him. Another flash of images came into his head. He saw the weird classmate of his, the garden she was in, the chilling song she sang, and the ANBU coming to get him. There were other flashes before, but they were not as prominent as the image just now. Everything in his head was confusing him, and he was close to not trusting anything anymore. There was a flash that said his mission was fake!

Then, how was he suppose to become a real ninja? He just wanted to rest from all the shit that was happening.

He looked up at the veil evening sky, so bright with the stars illuminating space, and he viewed the shining moon. The crescent shape of the celestial body was almost similar to a smile; however, _those__ thoughts_ came back, plaguing his mind without stop. No! He was Uzumaki Naruto, and he would not give up.

"Naruto! Naruto! Are you okay," said Iruka as he saw the boy standing so still even he could not visualize the image. Iruka ran to Naruto, not even questioning him if he was a clone. "What happened?" He forgot the purpose when he saw Naruto looking so lost staring into the sky.

"I am sorry, Iruka-sensei. Sorry, sorry, sorry," chanted Naruto as Naruto moved to Iruka's side. Somehow, Iruka was certain this person was the real Naruto. However, Iruka was surprised to see another side of Naruto he did not usually see. Naruto was nearly balling his eyes out, and Iruka knew Naruto was close to a breakdown.

Before Iruka could calm Naruto, he sensed danger coming towards Naruto. He saw an army of giant shuriken, and Iruka had no time to dodge it with Naruto, who was still trapped in his misery. Rapidly doing hand seals, Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way while he took the entire impact of the attack. The shuriken logged onto Iruka's person, and Iruka gagged at the piercing he felt. He coughed blood as he was sent flying by the force.

"You always got into my way, Iruka," said Mizuki, descending from the shadows like some fallen angel. "First, you are the supervising teacher for the graduating students, then you are here helping the brat here. You were spoiling things for me."

"It was you who planned this?" Only disbelief was presented in Iruka's face. One of his colleagues, a person who he worked with for years, was betraying the village.

"You think the brat has the smarts to actually plan everything. But, even for a simple snatch and run that kid messed it up. Now I have all classes of ninja coming for the kid. If that person had not messed up, I would have been gone with the scroll already," said Mizuki, who was getting more weapons to throw at Iruka. He could stage this his way. He just need to kill Iruka and the brat fast enough to make it like they battled each other. He got this because he already wounded Iruka and the boy could not touch his level.

He was unaware of the brat's presence when Naruto got into the chuunin's space and upper cut him. "You bastard!" yelled Naruto. Mizuki recovered finish enough to throw more projectiles, but Naruto rapidly did seals to substitute a log of wood. "You are going to have to go through me if you want Iruka-sensei!"

It seemed Naruto regained from his slight funk. Another series of hand-seals gone off, and several Naruto came into being. Two clones went to guard Iruka while the rest went after the bastard.

Mizuki eliminated several clones before jumping away from the rest. He had to admit the failure was good, but he knew something the brat would not know. "You really think everyone in this village likes you?" He laughed, the jailor wo1uld find out what he really was. "Everyone in the village knows you are the jailor of the Kyuubi! You will always be the demon. And you will never persuade them you are a normal person! It is the same for your teacher you adore. The teachers in your academy were ordered by the Hokage to be nice to you, including Iruka right there." He snorted although Naruto, his clones, and Mizuki did not look at Iruka, who sneaked away from his spot unto a tree when Mizuki did his rant.

Iruka tightened his mouth, holding the scorching burns from the wounds in. When he sensed the danger, he had remembered an jutsu that hardened his skin, but he slightly messed up. When those shuriken hit, he got hit _pretty_ badly because he was not conditioning his control over his jutsu besides the standard ones when he became a teacher. It did, however, still saved his vital spots; furthermore, he had a small window of time before he bleed to death.

He also really wanted to explode when Mizuki said Naruto was a demon. Sure, at first that might have been the case. But he kept his heart open, and he realized Naruto was a person unlike anyone.

He was annoyingly persistent, giddily foolish, and contagiously cheerful. Naruto would never be a demon to him: Naruto would always be a normal, happy boy to him.

He needed to control his breathing. Waiting for the perfect time, he would strike against Mizuki. "Yeah, you really think I didn't know. That's old news. Well, here is something, _Shadow Clone_!" When hundreds upon hundreds of clones appeared, it was Iruka's time plunged the dagger into the jackass's heart.

It only took a moment.

Iruka rushed to Mizuki, surprising Mizuki, Naruto, and his clones. Using all his might, Iruka pierced the armor Mizuki was wearing under his clothing, and Iruka knew he had to gamble on something. "Naruto, attack him!" shouted Iruka as he fell down with Mizuki. Mizuki pushed Iruka off which lead Iruka to land _very _hard on the ground. _Obeying_ the words of his real teacher, Naruto commanded his clones to save Iruka and attack Mizuki.

Mizuki barely had the time to scream before he was utterly beaten, almost to the point of being crippled, and he was knocked unconscious. Once the clones confirmed Mizuki down and tying Mizuki up, Naruto rushed to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, are you okay?"

Naruto was panicking at the amount of blood leaking out of Iruka. He had never seen Iruka with so many injuries, and his face contoured in pain with one side so stiff that the bites of frost came out as Naruto's hand went over there. It was his fault Iruka was like this because he was thinking of some stupid shit.

"I'm okay, Naruto. Don't believe Mizuki when he said you are the Kyuubi."

"It does not change that I am the jailer of that creature, and the village will never forget that fact" commented Naruto as he frankly tried to stop the bleeding.

Iruka had little time left. He would use most of his time to make Naruto understand he was not the Kyuubi. It would be his last mission he would do. He said, "all you have to do is change their minds. You wearing that headband is not only a symbol of this village. It is also symbolize your pride to everyone around. As long as you wear the headband, you can change the thinking of everyone that you are Naruto Uzumaki, a proud ninja of Konoha." A wild fit of coughs from Iruka interrupted the hallmark moment between teacher and student, and more bleeding gushed out from Iruka.

Naruto was frantically thinking what to do right now. Iruka was dying; those thoughts made Naruto want to rip the heavens out and challenged whoever, so Iruka can live his life to the fullest.

Not him! Not his teacher! Not his friend! Not his family! Not him! It shouldn't be him, lying here and waiting for death!

He held tight with hopes the bleeding would stop. "Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei! We going to get help-"

"Do not worry, Naruto," said a voice from above. Naruto turned his head to see the male ANBU and his entourage who were in those flashes of his coming down to where Iruka and him were laying. Emergency ninjas with white clothing went to Iruka's side. "Iruka-san will be fine. He is in the safest of hands," stated the man. Naruto saw people carry Iruka away from the forest spot they were in, but Naruto growled at the people separating him from Iruka. However, the absolute hold Towa had was too strong to break through. "The Hokage requests your presence, Naruto-san. I promise as a ANBU that Iruka will be safe and will be healthy."

After calming down considerably, Naruto knew it was time to confront the Hokage about everything.


	3. Passage to the Team

It was far too dark for Naruto. For him, it was not the Hokage's Tower. The faintly lit candle lights did not chase away the evening's shadows from the halls. Walking down the pathway was too cold, almost freezing like a small winter blizzard blew through the tower without anyone's notice. It was also too silent for him despite nearly everyone was a ninja, there was always noise of people's laughter or chatter around the tower. There were no ninjas going in and out for their missions, no helpers arranging paperwork for the Hokage to sign, and no passengers snaring at him. Added to the fact, Naruto can still smell the drying blood of his teacher. However no matter how much Naruto wanted to be with Iruka to see him get well, he had to face Jiji. As he continued down the pathway, he wondered what would he say to the Jiji.

While he was slow in his thinking, he was far from being stupid. He knew Jiji would know who was his father since Jiji appointed him to be the Fourth Hokage. Naruto truly did not know any words to express to Jiji. Naruto took a deep breath when he came face to face with the door leading to the office of the Hokage. He knocked and entered when Jiji called out to him. "Naruto, please seat down," said the wise, aging man, "I hope you understand what you did was rather premature on your part. Since it seemed Mizuki was the mastermind behind all this, I would like to hear your side of this event."

Jiji was not speaking like Jiji instead Naruto was talking to the Hokage, the leader and the peak of all the Konoha ninjas.

Naruto knew he would be punished due to nearly endangering the village as he was piecing together the flashing images from before into a concise memory. He wondered how a genin would response to the command of the Hokage because Naruto was truly a ninja now. "It had started after finishing the evaluation for the graduating students. After I successfully passed the exam, I was approached by Mizuki who stated that I was tied with another student for a spot on being a genin. So, he said another test would be handed to me that would promote me to genin if I could complete it. The test was for me to steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's Tower. Then, I learned several important things from the scroll before realizing the test was a trap by Mizuki."

Naruto saw Jiji rubbing his withered hand over the space between his lips and his chin. "I see. Despite Mizuki being the person behind all this, I will still need to discipline you, Naruto, to set an example to other ninjas in the village," he said deeply, not liking how he had to punish the boy he was fond of like a grandson.

"Don't worry Jiji, it was my fault because I didn't look beneath Mizuki's lies. So what's my punishment?" Naruto grinned, really not enjoying the formal exchange between Jiji and him. Naruto positioned himself, so his his torso pushed forward with his fingers curled and his thumb pointing at him. "Jiji, I can handle anything because I am the Great Uzumaki Naruto."

Sarutobi Hiruzen bellowed out at Naruto's comment that he had tears and said, "You might not like this Naruto, but it is an acceptable punishment. You will be under house arrest for a week, and you will going to help out in a blacksmith 's shop after your house arrest until I say so." Hiruzen knew it would help Naruto in the long time. His duties as the Hokage made it difficult to help Naruto reach his potential, but his friend could help Naruto find his path to greatness.

Naruto slightly bended his head towards the floor and moved his fingers across his hair because he was embarrassed. "That's cool, I can actually work on the techniques from each one of the Hokage I got from the scroll." He heard a rushing sound like a chair grinding hard against the floor. When he looked up, Jiji was standing up, and his expression was not something Naruto encountered before from Jiji.

"Those jutsu are dangerous, Naruto!" The techniques in the scroll are far too dangerous for even average jounin ninjas. Naruto was just a genin; he was inexperience to the amount of techniques inside the scroll, especially the Second Hokage's jutsu of the blood weapon. The danger some of those jutsu possessed were insurmountable.

"But Jiji, I am going to need new jutsu because I am a ninja. I just cannot rely on the academy techniques out there in the world," Naruto reasoned with Jiji. Naruto met the gaze of the Hokage, and he stood up as well. He worked his hardest to master one jutsu, and he would not let Jiji made him from learning. Hiruzen slowly got back to his chair, and he tenderly stared at the boy because Hiruzen understood the logic behind Naruto's words. It was just hard to see the boy trying to become an adult when he couldn't even fully enjoy his life.

All he could do was trust Naruto not to hurt himself or lose himself to power. He sighed because he really hoped Naruto would not endanger himself too much. "If that's all, Naruto, you can go back and start your house arrest," said Hiruzen.

Yet, Naruto was still sitting down after several moments, and he was looking at the floor with eyes not focused on anything. Naruto muttered something so quiet that even to the trained ears of the Hokage could not pick it up. Then, Naruto lifted his shirt and pointed at his abdomen."Jiji," said Naruto, quite honestly almost like a whisper, "I know what I am."

Someone must have threw Hiruzen several kunai right into his stomach with explosive tags. His mind was reeling in because Naruto knew he was a jailor. Tonight was becoming a nightmare.

"I also know the person who sealed me." Hiruzen did not want to hear the words from the young boy's mouth. "My father cursed my life, Jiji. He was the one who made me scavenge items from rotten corpses. He isolated me from the very village I was born into. He abandoned his son!" said Naruto as the emotions were madly whirling around his guts.

Hiruzen had his hands pressing against his desk. "Oh, I get he was the Hokage that it was his duty, but I don't why did it have to be me. He did not offer anything to me when I saw his message. Only that I was his legacy to the world. Not even an apology or sympathy," bitterly commented Naruto.

The aging man did not know why Minato chose Naruto; therefore, he could not lessen the grief from Naruto. "Naruto, your father was a good man." It was the honest truth; it was one of the reasons why Minato became the Hokage.

"I get that because he was the leader of this village. However, Jiji, I am only an orphan, and I am not the son of a great leader." Hiruzen felt cold water rush down on his heart because of the declaration. His robes and armor underneath couldn't shield the frost forming around inside. Naruto was not going to acknowledge who was his father. There was nothing sadder than children abandoning their roots. "If that was all, Jiji, I am going now."

"Naruto, Naruto!" repeated Hiruzen to stop the orphan from leaving so soon. "You must understand Naruto that Minato loved the village."

Naruto stopped, almost not wanting to hear any more words from the Hokage, but he spun around. "Don't worry Jiji. I love the village too, which is why I am going to become greater than anyone," mustered Naruto, who was holding in all the emotions stirring in his body. He failed at turning the knob at first because the tension coursing through him, but he managed to disappear from the office.

Hiruzen was left standing, wondering if Naruto's heart would close off now that he knew who was his parent.

* * *

Iruka was finally going to get out of the hospital. He was so glad it was morning because the rays of sun were grand on his skin. Being stuck in the white, sterile walls, he was restless, and he wanted to stretch. However, the doctors and nurses were pretty much demanding and scary when patients cross them, especially not following their orders.

But, he was grateful that he could continue to live despite the state he was in yesterday. It was truly a miracle that he survived that attack, yet it made him realized how relaxed it made him. His teacher and teammate would not have forgive him if he had unexpectedly died.

Then, a ninja appeared right in front of him and said, "The Hokage requests your presence." Iruka had forgotten the nerves that rushed towards his body when he was called forth by the Hokage. Usually, the Hokage would only request ninjas personally for special missions, but he wasn't usually called upon now especially when he became a teacher. So, he would not know why the Hokage would be calling him, but he would answer the call.

He took gawking steps on the halls of the tower, and the path he thought he knew was far different. He had walked to the halls of this office many times as a teacher and as a younger person. But now, the nostalgia was coming back when he walked with his squad. He would have never thought those good times would come back again. He wondered how Yuugao was doing. They were the last surviving members of their squad. His thoughts halted when he was at the doors of the office. Then, he knocked at the door, awaiting for the Hokage to call him in. The sound coming from the room was the Hokage's signal.

"Ah, thank you for coming so soon, Iruka-kun," said Hiruzen. It was odd facing the Hokage like this, Iruka mused. "I would like a special request for you concerning Naruto."

His eyes nearly popped out, and his voiced reached higher range. "Something happened to Naruto? Is he okay? May I see him?" Iruka was worried about the boy because he fainted after speaking to Naruto last night. He was sure if Mizuki had backup, they taken Naruto and the scroll away.

"Naruto is doing well. He was able to marvelously defend the scroll from Mizuki, but he had to be punished."

"Why? Naruto did not do anything wrong! It was all Mizuki's fault" Iruka raised his voice again at why Naruto was punished for something like that. But the sinking thought of Naruto leaving with the scroll away from the village flashed his mind. He shook it off since he knew Naruto was dedicated to the village. His Naruto would never do that. He was gullible for sure, but he was not immoral.

The leader of the village's ninjas reached for his pipe, and he lit it, making Iruka more troubled in his thoughts. "Yes, Mizuki was behind everything. There are already several plans on his punishment. But, Naruto still did cause mayhem by possessing the scroll. Thus, his punishment was only an informal house arrest and community service," spoke Hiruzen, who drew some smoke from his pipe. He tapped his pipe on the glass tray to release the ashes as he waited for Iruka's question.

Iruka's muscles mellowed after being in a state of tension, and he nearly gave way to his weight. "Informal house arrest? Is there such as thing? Community service?" Hiruzen wanted to laugh at the face Iruka was displaying, so he did. His deep howling echoed throughout the room with the speed of lighting. He ceased his laughter momentary when he saw the reddening face of the chunin teacher.

"No, an informal house arrest is nonexistent. While I did place Naruto to be in house for a week, it would not go on his records or any flags on his standing as an active ninja. The community service will be with one of my personal friends, who is also my personal blacksmith."

"Ah," said Iruka, thinking why the Hokage was doing this. Despite the might of their Hokage, ninjas all have their opinion, so punishing Naruto might have been the 'fairer' decision instead of letting him free. "But why did you call me for, sir?"

"I need a person I can trust to train Naruto more during his house arrest. Since you have been his teacher for years, I thought it would be more appropriate for you to teach him more control. Before you ask why, he learn techniques from the scroll which are dangerous to use without the proper control," said Hiruzen, puffing more smoke. The memory of last night was still lingering fresh in his mind.

"Calling me for control is not all, sir," Iruka spoke with certainty.

"He found some secrets about himself. I cannot tell you without consequence, and I worry about his mental state if he is left alone without a guiding hand," said Hiruzen. He sighed being haunting by the fact he could not truly help his _de facto_ grandson.

"Even without the order, sir, I would still see Naruto since I am worried about him as well." Seeing Iruka's smile, it reassured Hiruzen the bond between Naruto and Iruka. "I would also train him because I cannot stop him from being a ninja. I want him to learn all he can to survive the world out there. May I go now, sir?"

Hiruzen rested against the soft, leather-cushioned wooden chair. "Yes, you may, Iruka." When Iruka left his office, Hiruzen closed his eyes. Seeing Iruka walked away from his sight; it reminded him of that one mission where Iruka and Yuugao came back alone where the their squad leader died and their partner betraying the village. "Can the 'Will of Fire' change the decision of fate?"

Opening his eyes, he saw the fading pictures of his students, who were so full of innocent life and hopes at that time, dreaming of becoming stronger.

Fate can be so cruel to this dying man.

* * *

Iruka left the entrance of the tower, intending to go straight to Naruto's house. "Iruka? What are you doing here," said a rather familiar voice. He had to laugh at the coincidence at meeting his old teammate when he thought of the last time both of them actually traveled in the tower together. He smiled when he turned to meet the eyes of Yuugao. Her deep, lascivious lavender curls slightly danced with the gentle wind, and she stood like a seasoned actress with poise gained throughout the years. He noticed her sword that their leader gave to her resting at her side. It was definitely his old teammate.

"No way, Yuugao, what are you doing here?" He got near his former partner. She hugged him, which surprised the teacher. "I guess you miss me." He smiled while she playfully slapped him on his shoulder, not even wincing at the string that ran through his arm.

"Of course, we have an unbreakable bond to each other," she said as she was happily smiling about something. She saw the smug look Iruka was giving her. "Fine, fine, I was going to ask Hokage-sama for his blessing. I see the look you are giving me. This is why I was hesitant to talk you about it."

Asking the Hokage for his blessing was asking the Hokage to stand witness for her impending nuptials.

"No, I am glad you found someone," said Iruka, who eagerly hugged the newly engaged woman, "although, I was wondering where was the polite girl I knew." '_It was great she found someone else besides that bastard.__' _

She laughed, "you will only see her during missions." For the two former teammates, it was bliss for them.

Despite wanting to hang out some more with Yuugao, Iruka really needed to go to Naruto's house. "We really need to hang out again, and maybe meet your man." He saw the curve in her mouth, and before he knew it, she kissed him on his cheek.

"I'll like that. Thank you, Iruka." He just stared at her retreating figure as the wind, which started to pick up, was blowing her hair. He walked away, thinking Yuugao matured into her beauty.

The sun was shining down on his open path; it was a new day for him to start.

A few moments later, he was strolling through the marketplace. He greeted elderly, adult, and young passengers who knew him as a teacher of the academy. He had a brilliant thought: He would teach Naruto how to cook for a bit. Despite knowing most ninjas would eat rations on missions, Iruka wanted Naruto to survive the wilderness of the world when he would run out of rations. While Naruto was one resourceful child, he was also particularly picky about the things he put in his mouth. It was better for him to cook his meals that suited his tastes instead of disposing food away.

Seeing the outside sale signs for food, he scanned the signs to see what was good and cheap for today. His first stop was the vegetables store. From exotic produce from other lands, families of greens from local farmers, and other unique foods lined around the store. Looking at the array of produce, he really wondered why Naruto hated vegetables especially since he has his own garden.

He had found Naruto one day covered in dirt when he was walking to his house. He talked to Naruto who had lead him to the garden he was growing on area that bordered to the forest, where nobody usually went to. Naruto was so spirited explaining to him the plants' and flowers' functions and how he obtained them. Honestly, Naruto was smart and knowledge to things that interest him although he sometimes he did not use it.

However, Iruka knew if some people found out he was planting there, they would be heartless and destroy all his hard work. So, he gathered all his savings, and Iruka brought the land where Naruto's garden was. Naruto jumped at him when Iruka showed him the deed to the land.

Getting the necessities, his next stop was the fruit store which gathered locally grown fruits. When he got into the fruit store, he felt a presence. "Good morning, Iruka-sensei," someone said to him. Iruka thought, at first, it was one of the older students he taught since he heard a richly baritone voice. When he saw the long, gray trench coat and black-coated sunglasses, Iruka knew it was his newly graduated student Shino Aburame.

"Hello, Shino-san. Are you enjoying your vacation? And is your mother sending you to check on your products?" While Iruka favored Naruto on his welfare, it did not mean Iruka wasn't concerned for his other students or to try to get along with them. When Iruka became the teacher for his students, he was the only one who visited their houses to get a better sense how to bond with students.

"Yes, I am rather enjoying my vacation because I am able to experiment with new strains of insects." Shino was usually silent when he was around other people; however, Iruka knew Shino would get talkative to subjects he loved. Thus, Iruka would not be disgusted with any of Shino's hobbies. "The answer to your other question is yes; my mother has assigned me to inspect the Aburame's products because one of our workers contacted us about a fruit virus. I am to investigate if our products were carrying contaminates in them. However, I found no endangering components to our fruits," said Shino.

"Well, if you are checking then I trust you when you say there are no danger," said Iruka. Shino nodded before leaving Iruka to continue on the duty his mother appointed to him. Iruka just chuckled, and he walked around the store, getting all sort of fruits Naruto might like. After finishing his journey, it was finally time to get meat and bread.

Iruka was going to enjoy cooking for Naruto because it reminded him of his father cooking dinner for the family. The soothing smell of food with the company of people he loved, there was no other treasure greater in his mind. Iruka honestly believed Naruto was a little brother to him, and there was no way he would allow Naruto to be in a disadvantage against the world. He was going to make sure Naruto was the greatest ninja he could be!

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Naruto, I know you are home," said Iruka as the groceries were weighing down. He looked around the walls of Naruto's apartment. It was mostly clean; no graffiti signs or _colorful _decorations on Naruto's walls. Seeing the boy not answering his door, he must be busy with one of his projects. Jumping on the ceiling of the wooden pathway, Iruka took out the small broke wood tile, and he got the hidden key. When he had entered Naruto's apartment for the first time without the key, Iruka was the object of a prank onslaught. Iruka still had nightmares to this day of still wearing a bunny suit.

When he entered, it was lit with the sun shining through the windows, but no human fireball with the name of Naruto was there. He scanned around the room, turning his head horizontally. There was no Naruto anywhere. His mind racing with different conclusions. Then, he heard the shower, and Iruka was able to relax. "Naruto when you are done," Iruka was saying until Naruto came out of the bathroom.

"Wow, Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" Iruka was totally glad Naruto was already fully dressed with his usual attire although the orange brightened so much it was making his eye twitch. He would kidnapped Naruto's outfits and switch them some day in the future.

Having a basic knowledge with seals, Iruka took out a scroll and unroll it. When he did the seal to open it, books of various information piled against each other. The groceries were still hidden away from Naruto's slight. "Of course, I am here to make you study more!" He grinned, needing to make it seem to Naruto he was really going to study.

Not catching the bluff his teacher was playing with him; Naruto responded seriously, "No way! Why are you so cruel! Heartless!" Naruto gasped at the injustice at the situation. He was really going to complain just this time if it was really the case.

Not being able to hold his straight face anymore since it was too hard to control, Iruka burst out laughing. "Haha, I jest jest. I am actually here to spend more time with you. I know, I haven't spent as much since our class become one of the graduating classes of the year." He said his reason for coming over here. "Anyway, I know you're under house arrest, thus I will be teaching you some chakra control techniques since we really need to work on your control."

"Eh?" said Naruto. His confusion to Iruka being in his house was still a mystery. What Iruka was saying was not really getting into his head. How did Iruka know about him being under house arrest?

"The Hokage asked me to train you," said Iruka. "Furthermore, I was told by the Hokage you have other techniques other than the _Shadow Clone, _so training in control will be beneficial," explained the young teacher. Considering Iruka also needed to better his control, it was the perfect opportunity for both males to refine their training. Along with the books, Iruka also brought many scrolls that his teacher gave to him, who was famed for having a superb control of chakra.

"Really? But don't you have to teach da other classes you are getting?" While he was happy Iruka was willing to teach him more, Naruto did not want Iruka 's work to be affected by him.

"You freshly graduated students are not the only ones who get a break. I have a break as well since the doctor still doesn't want me to be reopen the wounds," said Iruka, pointing to the wounds on his back. Then, the boy's mood turned dark and knowing Naruto well enough he might be blaming himself for the wounds. Going to the boy, Iruka messed with Naruto's hair and said, "Naruto, don't worry. I think of these marks as medals of honor for protecting you." He ruffed Naruto's hair even more.

There was a strange familiarity when Iruka ruffed his hair, and Naruto felt contentment in his situation for the first time. "Why would you think that, Iruka-sensei?" Although he liked Iruka, Naruto sometimes did not get the actions of his teacher.

Iruka stopped for a minute while looking at Naruto's eyes and said, "I guess I am the only one who thinks of you as a family then?" Suddenly, Iruka was hit with the force of a speeding train. The boy jumped on him and hugged him so tight that even Iruka was becoming suffocated. "Naruto, Naruto, you can stop," said Iruka, not really putting any commanding air in his request. "Remember, we are here to help you train."

"So, what am I going to learn, Iruka," said Naruto so excited that he forgot his teacher proper title. But finding out Iruka's true feelings about him, Naruto knew Iruka was more suitable than Iruka-sensei to him now. Likewise, Iruka felt more comfortable with Iruka now than with the proper honorific with Naruto.

"Well, I was thinking we should start with the basic control. You know the leaf control," suggested Iruka.

He had gotten an immediate reaction from Naruto, who said," You got to be joking right, Iruka." While Iruka was just humming and getting something from his pockets, Naruto was seriously getting worried. "It's really a joke, right, right!"

* * *

Hatake Kakashi walked down the scenery of Konoha with the busting noises of the people all around him. Nothing seemed to beat the walk to the Hokage's Tower than walking very slow to the place with his book at hand. Although he knew he was 'slightly' late to the team arranging meeting the Hokage requested, he was just going to take any punishment except it seemed fate had other plans for him when a voice called out to him, "are you not going to hurry to the meeting, Kakashi?"

He turned to the muse-like voice, and he saw the recently appointed jounin, who was a former classmate of his graduating year. "Good morning, Yuuhi Kurenai," said Kakashi with no overly affectionate tone to his former classmate. With Yuuhi Kurenai around, Kakashi matched the pace she was going. While they were ninja-strolling together, they did not notice they already entered the tower, or they did but did not comment to each other.

"Must you say it that way as if we do not know each other?" she finally questioned, her brightly crimson eyes staring down at Kakashi's figure with a powerful intent to inflame his insides. He knew she was still inexperience at her position, but when her eyes was glaring that way, he was 'somewhat' intimidated.

"Why are you not already there in the meeting?" He evaded the question Kurenai directed to him. Kakashi, honestly for his part, did not know what to think of Kurenai, considering they were sort of acquaintances to each other but not close enough to say their names so closely.

She let his evasion of her question go because she would not really get answers from the tall male. "The Hokage gave us a message to meet later today. Maybe, the Hokage did not deliver the message to your house?" His single uncovered eye spotted the faintest contour of a smile Kurenai was showing. Before he said anything, Kurenai told him, "We've arrived at the office. Shall we go in, Kakashi?"

"Lead the way, Yuuhi Kurenai." She paused, but she continued on, knocking on the entrance instead of confronting the man behind her. When Kurenai went into the room, she was surprise she was the first one there.

"Ah, Kurenai good morning. As always you are very punctual, thank you for being on time," said the Hokage. He nodded to the female ninja, but his brows risen when his orbs landed on the very lazy jounin besides her. "Good morning to you, Kakashi, it is rather pleasant to see you early this time."

"No problem, Hokage-sama. _Kurenai_ was very generous on getting me out of bed and on time." The way he said his statement made it seemed that both ninjas were in a relationship with such a tender emphasis on her name. So Kurenai reacted by slapping his back while Kakashi just coughed and shrugged. Before he could comment again or she could do further damage, the other jounin going to lead their teams came with their brows risen at the presence of Kakashi there on time.

"Good morning to all of you," said Hiruzen to his subordinates, "as all of you know the reason why I have called this meeting, we are here to discuss the grouping of teams best suited to blossom the talents of our ninjas. I have a list from the teachers in the academy they believe which jounin their students would most likely succeed with. I agree with most of the choices the teachers have listed," Hiruzen explained. Then, he called out the each individual jounin to take the grouping.

When Kakashi read his list, he objected, "Hokage-sama, I want Uzumaki Naruto on my team." Most of the occupants were once again rose their eyebrows up as Hatake Kakashi would actually request a student. From the past years, he would fail all his students despite having high-class students for his teams. "My reason is with Uzumaki Naruto, who knows the _Shadow Clone_, gives more battle potential than Yakusho Norito or Haruno Sakura. They seem better suited for Kurenai's team since both have talent for genjutsu. Naruto has great amount of chakra for me to teach him several techniques I learned over the years."

"I object. Giving Uzumaki Naruto would weaken my overall balance over my team," reasoned Kurenai. All the jounin present moved away from the two dueling would-be-teachers. They felt the imaginary fangs of the wolf and teeth of the dragon emerging from the backs of Kakashi and Kurenai respectively. She argued, "I have several techniques he could learn, and I can provide excellent advice on fine-tuning his control. With Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uzumaki Naruto, my team has high combatant potential, but they need control to reach that potential which I have. Furthermore, with the individual talents of my team, we can be a tracker and scout team."

"Then, let's trade teams, Kurenai," offered Kakashi. "You said that your team can be a tracker-oriented squad, and I have qualified tracking abilities to teach them. That team is really better suited for me with Inuzuka being a ninja who uses hounds, the Hyuuga can benefit from more ninjutsu, and I get Uzumaki." The tension in the room heightened, and the temperature was dramatically dropping.

"What!" uncharacteristically yelled Kurenai. "Hokage-sama, you cannot really agree with what this man is saying." Everything in her body position told the Hokage she was furious as she was crumbling her list, and her eyes wanted to burn Kakashi's being even more than usual. Suddenly, she had thought and said, "Fine, I will trade Uzumaki Naruto for Aburame Shino." She knew the unspoken rule of no two noble clans in the same team because the noble clans had very powerful swing in the ninja forces. Having two heirs of two very known clans together in one team would be detrimental if the team was targeted and attacked during a mission.

Sensing the discussion was between Kurenai and Kakashi, the Hokage thought it would be a great time to set another meeting for a much later time. "Kakashi, stay. Everyone else can be dismissed." Kurenai was the last one to leave the room, with the help of the Hokage's son, Asuma. "Now Kakashi, why are you so persistent on Naruto being on your team? I looked over the points of his teacher, and I agree with his analysis and his placement on Kurenai's team."

Kakashi relaxed, intending not to let the miniscule muscle movement betray his motives in wanting Naruto on his team. When he looked at his list, it was a really versatile team that really utilized the members' talents, but the teamwork would not grow on them. "With good reason, sir. Yakusho Norito, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke would not work without a central figure. From the details on each person, they were mostly disinterested in working together despite Sakura's and Norito's relationship which would lead to a collapse in the structure of the team. I cannot become that central figure those genin needs, which is why I believe Naruto can be that central figure."

"Will you burden such a young adult with that kind of role?"

"If his dream is to become the Hokage, then this is the type of responsibly he will need to get used to." Both men stood quietly. Just a blank emptiness permeated the room as these two strong men stared against each other. They thought they were doing a favor for the boy named Naruto in their own way.

* * *

"Iruka, I finally did it!" He fist pumped the air because he has been walking around the ceiling for sixty minutes and forty-two seconds upside down. Iruka's goal for him for that day was forty-five minutes, but he wanted to extend the time because he was really wanted to do Iruka proud. During his week training with Iruka, Naruto learned so many things to refine his chakra control from mediation, simple finger push ups, and complex threading exercises. Iruka had forbidden him to practice any of the jutsu he learned until he had proper chakra control.

Iruka put down the scroll his teacher had given him, and he smiled, "Good job, Naruto. Now do you want to make dinner now?" It was becoming a tradition with the duo. Iruka thought about the beginning of the week when he first shown Naruto how to handle a skillet and spatula. They had planned to make a pan-seared fish filet with just a fruit and vegetable salad. His plan was start at something small and easy even Naruto can master it. Oh god, it was a huge mess to clean up and really stupid of him to think Naruto was really that ready. He still did not contemplated how the fish got to the ceiling and stayed there for four hours.

So Iruka took Naruto through the process step by step. It took a few tries, especially when Naruto started throwing spinach at him. But they had a successful first cooked dinner. The absolute joy in Naruto's face when he took a bite of the fish with the salad was fulfilling to Iruka to keep doing it again. So the dinner became a sort of ritual for them. After Naruto accomplished his schedule, his break time would be a cooking session with Iruka. It was a small glimpse of family time between these two people.

"Yeah!" shouted the impassioned, young adult. Before Iruka could get up from his sitting, Naruto was already preparing the components for the meal. He did not use his clones to help out because Naruto wanted his time with Iruka for him only. Naruto got the pans heating on when Iruka finally entered the kitchen. "So what are we going to learn today, Iruka?"

"Since it is the final day of your house arrest, we should celebrate it with a feast," said Iruka, ruffing Naruto's hair. Naruto just grinned because it was their signal of affection. No one in his life was this involved in his life except Iruka. He hoped it won't end after his house arrest.

"Iruka, can we still be doing this?" Honestly experiencing a family bond for the first time, Naruto will not let it get away that easily.

Iruka understood the 'this' Naruto was referring to was the cooking and dinner time they been having. "Of course, we can, Naruto. This is practically our bonding time now since you are an active ninja now starting tomorrow when you get your squad. Now let's finish this so we can eat," said Iruka. With such familiarity around the kitchen, they cooked up a feast worthy for several _large _Naruto clones soon enough.

After cleaning up, washing up, and playing down before sleeping, the ever-shining sun lowered into the blink horizon and making way for the soft glow of the moon. Naruto got up in the middle of the night and walked to his refrigerator for water. Taking huge gulps, he spitted out the refreshing liquid out when he heard Iruka say, "Naruto, you better not have any ideas!" Naruto turned around only to see Iruka was sleep talking. It gave Naruto some state of mind when Iruka stayed at his house since it did get lonely around his house.

With the loneliness, lingering thoughts came through with why his own father abandoned him to this kind of fate. He wondered if he should tell Iruka who his father was. Maybe when he finally accepted his situation, Naruto would tell his favorite person.

Since he had thought he was always an orphan whose parents died in the fight against the Kyuubi, he never wondered who his family were. Now knowing he was a son to the Fourth Hokage, he wanted to know if he has any family especially where his mother was.

But he would not start asking about the rest of his family until he had gotten stronger to protect himself more. He remembered one history lesson on the Fourth Hokage about being called The Yellow Flash. He was a hero for Konoha, but he was feared against other villages. If he was truly the legacy _his father_ said he was, he will need to get much stronger than he was currently.

But looking at the unguarded Iruka, Naruto grinned and got his paints out of his closet. Getting stronger could wait especially for tomorrow morning.

"Naruto!" The shout woke up every animal, every person, and every inanimate object within a ten kilometer radius of the complex apartment. Naruto blazed to the bathroom and laughed so hard he couldn't get a decent breath. "You better have the clean-up for this Naruto because you will be in trouble if not," said Iruka, rubbing his face with soap and water to rid of the star themed colors of a clown. Naruto gave away the clean-up, and he ran to the academy for his team assignment.

Turning around and expecting Naruto to be there to lecture him, Iruka found the empty space to be disheartening. Iruka had become comfortable with Naruto there talking with him in those nights he slept over during the week. Getting out of the door, Iruka was going to walk to the tower and get the finalized arrangement. Maybe, he could talk to the Hokage later about something in his mind.

Naruto hopped along the rooftops, greeting the other ninjas doing the same. Abruptly he saw a silhouette of the weird girl in his memories, and he called out to her, "Hinata!" He leaped forward, surprising the girl by invading her personal space. "Are you okay? Those ANBU did not hurt you at all, right?" He figured out the flashes of images were memories of his clones. It took awhile for his mind to piece together all the fragments of memories to make an aphoristic organization of that day.

Hinata, on the other hand, was looking over Naruto, sensing it was the real Naruto compare to the calm Naruto she talked to that evening. She tried speaking except no sound was willingly to come out of, no even a slight glee when Naruto came intending to find her. She tried really hard to force out a greeting to the boy, but all she could muster was an "eh?" However, she was glad at least she was not feeling too dizzy over Naruto unlike the other times.

Thank goodness for her guard rescuing her by saying, "Who is this young man, Hinata-sama?" At least, she could talk to Kō-san. "He is Naruto-kun. I mean he is Uzumaki Naruto, and he is my classmate." She blushed at her slip-up.

"Yeah, sir, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. By the way, why are you calling your daughter that way?" A person could hear that pin drop on the marble floor and its sound resonating throughout the room. Kō-san, for the most part, was immoveable with an inexpressive face, staring down at Naruto. For Hinata, she was getting more embarrassed. Now for Naruto, he knew he said something wrong, feeling the tension around him. "Wait? Hinata is not your daughter?" Unknown to Naruto, another person with high decorum was standing behind him.

"No, she is my daughter, Uzumaki-san," said the another person. When Naruto turned around, he wished he did not do it. The person behind was beyond terrifying with his gangly statue and daunting demeanor. Hands so stretched and wide that in one swift motion, he could covered Naruto's neck and crush it with ease. What Naruto feared the most was the bleached eyes scanning him as if he was a threat. Naruto would never connect the quiet girl to this imposing man as family if someone else told him. "Uzumaki-san, may you take my daughter to where you two get your teams unless you want to stay with me?" Naruto accelerated so fast that any regular person would only see a huge orange blur with a white streak going to the academy.

"Hyuuga-sama, permission to speak." The Hyuuga guard kneed and asked his clan leader. Seeing the gesture, Kō said, "why have you allowed Uzumaki Naruto to escort Hinata-sama?"

"They might had become teammates. Now I only hoped they become friends, so I would have my daughter protected with other factors," said Hyuuga Hiashi.

Kō remained kneeling, understanding Hyuuga Hiashi wanting to protect his only daughter his beloved wife left for him to protect.

When Naruto stopped, he saw the girl barely standing on her feet. "Sorry for going too fast, Hinata-chan. It is okay to call you Hinata-chan?" She nodded. "You know your dad is scary." She nodded again. "Are you ready for the squad arrangement?" She nodded once again. "You know it is not a conversation when only one person talks. I know you can talk, Hinata-chan, unless you don't want to talk to me?"

She violently shook her head and whispered, "You are still holding my hand, Naruto-kun." Like a light blub clicked on his head, he let go of her hand. "Naruto-kun, why did you come looking for me?" inquired Hinata in a timid tone and pushing her two index fingers together.

"Well, I want to apologize to you for displaying a scene the other day. I saw your face, and you were starting to cry. That's why I wanted to talk to you, in case, you need a friend to talk to," said Naruto, emulating a similar speech pattern to his favorite person.

She encapsulated her hands with his hand nearest to her. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she said earnestly. She had prayed that night for Naruto to be safe, and holding his hand was reassuring her that her prayer was granted.

Before Naruto could say even through he was becoming speechless, a cough grabbed their attention. "I did not wish to interrupt your moment because it was enduring. However, I believe we should get going because the teams will be announced soon," said the specs wearing ninja with the trench coat. The hand sphere created by Naruto and Hinata quickly disappeared. Naruto was staring at the unfamiliar person because he wanted why the student was speaking to him like the person knew him.

"Oh, Shino-kun, good morning," said Hinata, turning to the person. Shino nodded and tiled his head, so his glasses were aligned to Naruto's vision. Naruto's eyes widened when he recognized the name. The unknown person was a classmate of his.

They moved in unity entering the classroom. Seeing Hinata and Shino sit down, Naruto moved towards him instead of investigating the cluster of females. There was only one reason why the females were there anyway, so he did not need to get involve. It was surprisingly easy for him to talk to Shino and Hinata without truly feeling like an idiot. Several minutes later, the door into the classroom opened, and Iruka walked with a single parchment with every student following the teacher's every move.

"I will say this again. Congratulations, everyone. All of you have worked hard to reach this important step, and you are about to enter a world far beyond your imaginations. But you will not be alone. What I have here in my hand is a list of teams where everyone's talents will be utilized in the best possible way. I want you guys to pay attention now," said Iruka, calling out the teams. Naruto's heart was starting to beat louder at the possibility of being with people he can talk to. "Now for Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura," stated Iruka. A humongous cheer came from the girl and a lot of booing and protests came from the other girls especially one blonde. The teacher, after calming down the females, finally said, "and Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto felt a sting in his heart; sure he got to be in a team with Sakura-chan. However, there was a difference between getting along with a person and liking a person. "Team Eight: Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata." After saying the last of the teams with Team Ten having a Nara, a Akimchi, and a Yamanaka, Iruka told them their teachers will be picking them up and left the room.

"Oh well, guess that means we aren't a team then," said Naruto towards the two others around him.

"It does not mean we cannot hang out with each other," reasoned Shino, saying the most unexpected thing like hanging out. "We might not the same days off, but we can get some time just to hang out. Kiba will agree with me." Shino was facing Naruto, but Naruto found it very interesting because Kiba was standing right behind Shino. "How you ask? Because I smell the breath of Kiba coming down." Naruto did not know which was stranger Kiba looking blue or Shino telling a joke.

The biggest astonishment was the small giggle coming from Hinata who saw the stunned looks on the boys. The boys were shocked at the girl trying to suppress her laughter. It caused a chain reaction with two boys laughing out loud, one boy slightly coughing, and one girl giggling with grace, making all heads turn. "Yeah, Naruto, we're going to hang-" Kiba was interrupted when the door opened, revealing a gorgeous woman. Her lengthy, night curls and her unique tone of scarlet eyes were enticing to most of the younger males. Even her body was being eyed by other females who want to have that shape when they grow older. "Wow, who is that?" Kiba was just utterly speechless.

"Good morning, new students. I am Yuuhi Kurenai, and I am here to retrieve Team Eight," said Kurenai kindly as Kiba did a minor victory fist slide. Naruto had to bid farewell to Team Eight as they walked away with their new teacher, and knowing his own team would not talk to him, he went to study the control scroll more Iruka gave to him. Iruka said he should do the scroll step by step.

The next step was a water walking technique. After that, there was a sky walking technique. Naruto so could not wait until he learned to do that although Iruka said his teacher was the only person he knew that could do that technique.

As the minutes ticked down, Naruto was practicing other chakra control exercises he could do at the desk he was sitting at. Naruto wanted his teacher to come already because he still needed to meet up with his community service supervisor after everything. Furthermore, he kept hearing other team teachers coming over and requesting their squad to come with them. His teacher should be coming soon because Sasuke, Sakura-chan and him were the last ones in the room. Those precious minutes turned into an hour and a half. When he looked up again, Sakura had her sights set on him as she came over to his place and said, "What are you doing, Naruto?" It was a normal question, devoid of any personal character, tone or inflection.

It was really weird considering Sakura-chan would call him with some kind of emotion before actually talking to him or asking him a question. Maybe it was a genjutsu? It was a realistic possibility since their teacher has not come yet. Was their teacher testing them? One of Iruka's lessons taught him during the week training was recognizing genjutsu and dispelling it more properly. Gathering the chakra, he released the energy along with his breath, "Kai!" The Sakura-chan of no emotion was disappearing as a masked man appeared before him. The man closed Naruto's mouth, preventing him yelling out and alerting the other two.

"You are a lot sharper than what your profile says about you, Naruto," said the masked man. "Don't speak or yell unless you want your teammates to be trapped in their genjutsu forever. I'll give you a simple test." Naruto took the details of the man before him: the man's silvery hair, masculine jawline, and an inhumanly possible smiling eye. His mind was telling him not to trust him, but his gut was telling Naruto something else. "It is really easy. Guess who I am? And I'll give you a prize for guessing correctly."

Barely a minute in, Naruto said, "You are Team Seven's teacher." Even if it did not seem possible, the man's eye lit up and smiled further. Yet, Naruto still had his guard up. He discreetly moved his hand under the desk to get into his side pockets, and once he knew his fingers traced the shapes of the kunai, he faked relaxing.

Kakashi was just smiling. The boy was really adapting to the situation at hand. Most genin would really relaxed once he identified himself, but the boy was still keeping up his guard. Kakashi was going to have fun with his teacher's son because the boy has potential. He wanted to see what Naruto would do and said, "You are correct. Since you guess right, you get to choose a new jutsu to learn or you get to look one page from my bingo book." Seeing the boy stirred his head awkward at bingo book, Kakashi decided to answer the unasked question, "My bingo book has entries of criminals and other dangerous ninjas that could be a prospective threat to the village."

"I want the book," said Naruto. Kakashi willingly handed the book where Naruto hastily scanned the pages looking for the man. Naruto knew it was just a small possibility since it was the man's book. However, there was no entry about the man in his book, but he still did not know what the level of danger this man possessed.

Kakashi clapped, releasing the genjutsu around the room. Hearing the noise, the other two occupants were surprise to see a mysterious man. Seeing Sasuke-kun was not going to talk to her, Sakura said, "What are you doing to Naruto, you old man."

"I was testing you three. I am your squad leader. Meet me up in the roof in one minute," said Kakashi, disappearing in a whirl of leaves. The three junior ninjas blinked at the unusual teacher they got. Sasuke and Sakura rushed to the rooftop because they wasted several seconds staring at empty space while Naruto stayed back to concentrate his chakra to climb the walls of the school's building. The vertical walls were much longer than his house walls, but he just kept climbing, remembering the feeling in his body.

Stepping on the roof, he shouted, "Oh yeah! Finally did it." There was so much he could do inside his house, but he was outside now! He was going to get more training.

"Oh, you already know that skill. Very impressive for someone that lacks proper chakra control," said his new 'teacher'. "Now sit down while we wait for your other teammates to arrive." It was down to the last milliseconds when the rest of the team finally got to the roof.

"Sasuke-kun, wait! We need to get Naruto!"

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I'm already here!" yelled Naruto.

"Now, now since everyone is here. Take a seat anywhere," called out the teacher, and the younger managed to sat next to each other. "Let's introduce ourselves with what is your names, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and dreams as an icebreaker." Kakashi carefully examined them. Only Naruto and Sasuke were tensed around him. Well, considering Naruto found out the genjutsu, Naruto being suspicious was not the biggest shocker around. The shocker was he detected he was in a genjutsu even before Sakura, who has the foundation of a genjutsu expert, and he overpowered the illusion through sheer chakra. Sasuke was just naturally cautious around everyone.

"What do you mean exactly, sensei?" Kakashi heard the tiny respect from her question. He had rather preferred her defiant tone when she did not know who he was. He was going to have to teach her not to easily trust what others say.

"I guess I'll start. My name is Hatake Kakashi, your assigned jounin teacher. My hobbies include reading and grooming my dogs. My likes are numerous, and my dislikes are limited. My dream for this squad is to help you three reach your greatest potential alive. Now you go," said Kakashi, pointing to Sakura.

She stood up and spoke, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I don't have a particular fond hobby. My likes are my hair and cleanness, but my dislikes are cleaning up mess especially from pranks," she said confidently although she had a few spurs of giggles in between her monologue. The only line she said with seriousness was, "my dream is to become a good ninja."

Kakashi nodded and then pointed to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke. My hobby is training to become stronger. I don't have a preference for likes or dislikes. My dream is only for my sake, and I don't need to discuss it with anyone else." Kakashi wanted to stop the boy because he was slipping his hostility towards everyone while he noted Sasuke needed to control his intents more to become an effective ninja. It would be for another day then Kakashi finally signaled the last person in his team to introduce himself.

"Name's Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies include training and cooking with Iruka. I like ramen especially from Ichiraku! I used to hate eating vegetables until Iruka start cooking them with me," he said in an exhilarating voice with over layers of fondness. Then, the blond quieted down and paused. "My dream is to become stronger than anyone," said Naruto, whose voice was becoming faint over time. His goal was still to be Hokage, but he did not know what his grand life goal was anymore.

It sort of worried Kakashi that Naruto would falter on his dream since the files showed Naruto loved boosting about being a Hokage. A snort then laughter emerged from the dark, moody boy. "I have seen the strongest man living in this world, a truly terrifying demon. You are no where near his league," piercingly commented Sasuke towards Naruto.

Then, Kakashi watched Sakura's face to see if she agree with: She had a perplexed face that crossed between shock and revolt. There must be a past with her because he saw the infatuation she has for Sasuke. Before it erupted into a fist fight, Kakashi voiced, "Okay, enough. Now that we have seen each other. Engraved your team's face, and meet up for tomorrow to see if you can survive my test."

Sakura gasped, "Your test?" She did not know there was any additional tests or exams to be taken.

"Did you three honestly think you become automatically genin? Of course you three need to pass my test to become official genin. By the way, I suggested to you all you shouldn't have dinner or breakfast unless you want to be sick. Now then, Sasuke and Sakura you two are dismissed." Sasuke left, and Sakura was torn between going after Sasuke or staying with Naruto. "Don't worry Sakura, he is fine with me," said Kakashi with an affectionate tone that help ease Sakura, who left afterward.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what do you want with me?" Naruto was calmer because it did seem like the man was their teacher and squad leader. "I have to go do something."

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions. Don't worry, I will escort you to the community service Hokage-sama said for your punishment." Those key words stopped Naruto from walking away. "My first question is how did you figure out you were in a genjutsu?"

"It was when the illusion tried to impersonate Sakura-chan. The illusion should have acted more emotionally and have a higher inflection in the voice. So I thought it was a possibility, and releasing a chakra wave would disrupt a genjutsu slightly if it was too strong. At least it would let me know I was really stuck in an illusion or dispel it completely if it was too weak," said Naruto, answering with fluidity to a superior officer, which Iruka said was the proper response.

"Good, good. I am going to teach you so many interesting things. I don't need the other questions, but you are correct on keeping your guard up, Naruto. You never knew who are your allies. Anyway, I should really guide you to where the blacksmith is." Naruto followed Kakashi hopping through the rooftops of other buildings.

Until they got into a tranquil area away from the busy streets of Konoha, it was wedged between the forest surrounding the village and an old house with a well. "Go on, Naruto, this is your stop." Kakashi disappeared again in a whirl of leaves.

Without anything else to do, Naruto walked up to the door and knocked. He knocked again before long he repeated it again. "Who the fuck is bothering me now!" yelled out as the door opened wide. Naruto was not prepared to see a woman close to her sixties dressed heavy robes and iron plates around her body. "Are ya the boy that old fool said would be working for me?"

Naruto questionably nodded. "Then why are ya standing all ditzy? Come in already! Put on some clothes, and wait there by the pit!" He hoped to the heavens the pit did not mean that inferno at the edge of the room. When the old lady closed the door, the temperature went up at least thirty degrees. "Boy, I told ya put on some clothes, so we can get to work!"

He was going to get Jiji big time!

* * *

Kurenai freshened up in the night after assessing her genin with questions. They were very well suited to be a tracker-oriented team. Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, had foundations to become great trackers because they were able to distinguish various smells and potency. With the pack mentality, Kiba and Akamaru would easily understood the meaning of teamwork. Shino was an enigma to say the least; a puzzle Kurenai wanted to unravel. His collected manner and calculating mind made him suited to direct the team, but that was the surface of his abilities. Although she did not want to lose Naruto, she did get a great addition to her team she believed. Hinata was a Hyuuga; their bloodline abilities were already well known in the field of tracking. Kurenai could not really assess Hinata because Hinata did not come out of her shell, but Kurenai resolved to help Hinata grow stronger.

Still she could not get how Kakashi got the Aburame and Hyuuga clans to agree with her team arrangement. Kakashi was an infuriating man for sure. Thinking about him made her want to get some of her newly brought wine her friend Anko recommended for her.

When she opened her door, Kakashi was there, sitting and drinking her wine. "What are you doing here?" She was going to get a migraine dealing with this man.

"Not even a good evening, Yuuhi Kurenai? I thought you were all about politeness," he said, pouring more wine into his glass. From the way the bottle was about to be empty, he has been here for awhile.

"What do you need, Kakashi," she asked again. She sat down and grabbed the glass Kakashi was handing her. Pouring some wine, she asked, "You are going to need to talk to me, Kakashi."

"Do you want to make a bet with me?" It made absolutely no sense to Kurenai on what Kakashi was saying. Was he already that drunk from drinking? She tasted the liquid, loving the way the wine hit her buds. It was sweet and not too dense for overwhelm her senses. Why was Kakashi drunk from a light drink like this? "You know a stake between the both of us," he childishly said.

"Kakashi, do I look like a child to you. I know what a bet is. I am thinking why do you want to make a bet with me?" She slenderly squeezed the rim of the glasses, imagining it as Kakashi's neck. She wanted to break that neck of his. However, another thought rose in her mind about sliding her fingers on his mask and revealing his face. She blinked, banishing her foolish thoughts.

"Since we both have our teams, I wanted to test my genin against yours. Which genin team wins is the winner, and the winner can make the loser do whatever he wants to," Kakashi smirked.

She noticed his declaration of victory, and she said, "Of course, I am going to win Kakashi. Now pour me some." Kakashi gladly obeyed.

* * *

Naruto sighed at the sight of his apartment because his muscles still arched despite finishing all the chores from the crazy Baba. Getting his keys out, he entered his house intending to go to sleep without dinner. Except Iruka was sitting near his doorway with his back turned around, Naruto alerted him, "Iruka, what are you doing here?" Despite the rough punishments by Baba, his tiredness expelled seeing Iruka there.

"I am here to give you this, Naruto," said Iruka, handing him a document. Naruto read over it, and he started tapping at one line. He showed Iruka the line he was pointing at. "Yeah, Naruto. Once you become a genin, you can start living with me."

They're going to be a family!


	4. Fighting between Teams

"Naruto, wake up. Naruto, wake up," said Iruka, stirring the boy up to awareness. The grogginess that came from sleep sapped away when the pajama-wearing boy smelled breakfast. Yet, he grumbled hearing that man's voice telling everyone not to eat breakfast. But it was Iruka's cooking, and he was hungry despite eating dinner as well. Since he already disobeyed Kakashi's suggestion, he quickly changed his clothes because the aroma of the food was making his stomach protest at any delay.

Sitting down on the chair, Naruto promptly outlined his to-do list on the spot. His primary goal today for sure was getting on Kakashi's team, so he would be under the guardianship of Iruka.

Then, he went to outline his secondary goals: training his exercises outside to get a real situation feel and attending his community service. When he climbed the school wall by walking vertically, he remembered the steep raise which almost made him lose control. He needed to practice more, so his control would be second nature to him.

His mind was recalling his experience with the crazy woman, who didn't care about being called Baba. When she closed the door, the room turned into the chamber of a volcano. His ears were still ringing when she fount out he did not know any fire-based or wind-based jutsu, and she taught him one simple jutsu of each kind until his body remembered it without her showing him over again. However his ears were not the only ones that had a hard time, his cheeks suffered as well, When he made mistakes on sharpening the simplest of ninja tools, she pulled his cheeks so hard. Despite the grueling work, he thrived under that environment although he rather take any punishments than having his cheeks pinched.

All his thoughts vanished when the spinach bell paper omelet with fermented beans and rice was placed in front of him. "Thanks, Iruka." He basically vacuumed the plate in two seconds. "It is always so good!" Naruto begged for another serving. '_Homemade food __is__ so great,__'_ mused Naruto.

Iruka let a diminutive breath while shaking his head; nevertheless, Iruka gave his 'little brother' more food. Although Naruto was eating it because it was delicious, Iruka was helping out Naruto. "No problem, Naruto. Ready for your team evaluation?"

Naruto stopped for a moment to shallow down the clunk of food in his mouth, and he let out a burp. "Did Iruka get team evaluations too?" Naruto asked, hoping to get some hints on getting that official title of genin. It was so close; Naruto couldn't make any mistakes. Any tips or criticisms would exceedingly be helpful in getting that close platform, that stepping stone to becoming greater than anyone else.

Forcing his negative emotions back, Iruka truthfully told Naruto, "No, we were in a middle of a war. Our team were forced to go on the field without any proper team exercises. While it helped increase our military force, the amount of loss Konoha during the war was great especially lower level ninja squads. This is why Hokage-sama issued mandatory team evaluations now to see if the team can truly work together since theory is only theory."

"Oh, so the evaluations is all about teamwork?" Seeing Iruka nodding, Naruto repeated _teamwork_ over and engraved it into his mind. He wondered how he was going to work together with his team, but somehow, he knew they will for the sake of being genin.

Iruka saw they had plenty of time, and Iruka need to say something about Naruto's 'stolen' jutsu. "So Naruto have you learned any other techniques from the sealed scroll?"

Naruto did a double take on the question. Was it a trick question or a joke because he was not really getting why Iruka was asking him. "Of course I did," said Naruto. Thinking about the way how everything went during that night, Naruto should be proud he was able to get four radical different techniques from the scroll despite the truth in the scroll. He brilliantly showed his teeth at Iruka; however, the look on his 'older brother' Iruka's face told him he actually said the wrong thing. "Ummm, I did not learn anything else from the scroll?"

"That's right, Naruto. One of our greatest assets as ninjas is being unknown to others. Being relatively unknown means you can surprise your enemies even more with your techniques," said Iruka as he started gathering the plates to wash.

"Then what about those ninjas in a bingo book?" Naruto inquired for his teacher. When he looked at Kakashi's bingo book, he had scanned one criminal, and it had several jutsu on the criminal with details about favorite style and tactics to use. He was a ninja, of course, he needed to know how to quickly and effective get in information. He saw many ninja headbands on those criminals. "Aren't they famous?"

Iruka nearly tripped over his feet and dropped the plates when he heard Naruto said bingo book. "How do you know about a bingo book?!" Iruka hadn't heard or seen a bingo book until he was a chunin, yet here was Naruto talking about it. Iruka forgot he was talking to Uzumaki Naruto, the most unpredictable ninja he had seen.

No, Naruto is the most unpredictable and most loyal ninja to Konoha.

"Never mind, yes people in the bingo book are famous for doing horrible things or betraying their village. But like any person, those ninjas can improve themselves. So, pursuers don't know their abilities to the fullest. This is deadly because ninjas hide their true strength. This is why you shouldn't reveal all your techniques at one time," said Iruka.

"But is it okay to reveal info to Jiji?" asked Naruto. Since it was Jiji who approved high ranking missions to ninjas, it should be alright for Naruto to give Jiji his techniques. Then, Naruto also asked, "And should my teammates or squad know all my techniques?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama and some other top figures will know most of your abilities, so they could place you in a mission that suits your abilities to make it successful. At most if you truly trust your teammates then only a portion of your jutsu you can let them know."

"Eh, why the emphasis on teamwork if I can only show my team a portion?" Naruto commented because he was getting confused the mixed sayings from Iruka.

"Naruto, people change; no one stays the same. One day, a ninja can appear the most loyal to one's village. Then, the next day, that same ninja could betray his village by killing his teacher and leaving his squad for dead. That is why you should not always show your knowledge to people you can not truly trust," said Iruka.

He jerked away from Naruto. While he knew it was juvenile to walk away, the memory of that _mission_ was coming back. It took him years for the memory not to invade his thoughts every waking and sleeping moment in his life.

He just needed a few minutes by himself to calm down.

Naruto knew he made Iruka remember something dreadful, and he just kept quiet because he didn't want Iruka to regret about his decision about the guardianship. Hearing his alarm going off minutes later, he packed his items for the test in his bag: ropes, pins, kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, hooks, and other useful ninja tools he might need. He still saw Iruka in his kitchen as he walked passed to get to his door.

He grinned; his mouth stretched from ear to ear when he heard Iruka say, "Good luck. Show your teacher what you got."

* * *

Kurenai concentrated on her meal. Then, she massaged her head musing about her actions yesterday. When she woke up that morning, she saw the signs of a one night stand: The musk of sex lingered on her room, an unidentified article of clothing hanged at the edge of her side of the bed unseen to most, and the gentle heat of a gone body remained on the lonely space of the bed. She had woken up to the aroma of a breakfast, and she knew that was strange because she lived by herself. When she saw the note, everything was becoming clearer as the sleepiness was fading away in her rapidly awakening mind. At least, Kakashi was polite enough to clean most of their mess and make her breakfast.

It was certainly not her first one night stand, but it was the first time for her to be with a colleague she had history with.

Still, she couldn't believe she got drunk off wine. She wanted something to lessen the nerves of leading a new team, her first team. Apparently, she had gotten a drink too strong for her. The taste was not heavily laced with alcohol when she was drinking it with Kakashi. Yet, the buzz she got was not ordinary after drinking minutes later. She should have realized the wine was not normal when Kakashi was acting like a child to her. Never, never ever trust Anko with suggesting drinks to buy.

And the wage was going to give her a headache. She remembered the conditions and terms of the wage in fine detail considering it was those moments they started making out. After fully assessing their squads, it was Kurenai's move to attack Kakashi's squad. He needed his team to have a simulation of a ninja attack because he wanted his team to evolve into a front assault team. The winning condition was whichever team got the bells at the end.

She was more worried about the bet they placed; they said loser would do anything the winner said for twenty-four hours. She needed to make sure her team knew the seriousness they need to win.

She put the thoughts in the back of her mind when she saw the time. She quickly took a shower, washing down her entire body with hot water and soap because one of her students had a trained nose. It would be an awkward moment when her students realized or even asked about her life. Moreover, she had to set an example on the children because she was the adult. Once she was out of the house, she was Yuuhi Kurenai, squad leader and teacher of Team Eight, and all personal feelings should not interfere with her duty for fulfilling that position.

Despite the chilled cloudy weather that touched every corner of Konoha, she was pleasantly surprised to see two of her team members already waiting for her. "Oi! Sorry guys!" yelled out Kiba with Akamaru barking along the way. At least, her young protégés knew the value of being punctual.

"No worries, Kiba." She was going to continue until his dog started barking. Understanding she ignored the small dog, she said, "and Akamaru, you are quite on time as I just arrived. Now, your exam is to find several items hidden in the village." This caused most of her students to pay attention to her words. "The items are not part of interior where they are hidden, and they have my illusions on them. Here are communication devices for you to talk to. After you four have finished, come back and you will receive another mission task from me," said Kurenai, signaling them to the village and remembering the small dog to be include in the team.

They all took the devices from her hands before heading off to the village in their hunt. As she climbed on one tree and sat down to read her book, she thought of the reasons why she assigned them to this type of team exercise. She could have easily done the exam in the forest, but it was too cliché since they all live in a forest. Research also indicted that most leads for potential captures of rogue ninjas or criminals happened in an urban area.

This was perfect practice for her tracker team.

* * *

Naruto was utterly and dreadfully bored out of his mind because he had been waiting for his teacher to finally show up. When he gotten out of his apartment, a random dog with the village headband gave him a letter. He had remember his teacher liked grooming his dogs, so Naruto thought the letter was where he was suppose to go for the genin exam. Then, he arrived at the location with Sakura-chan and Sasuke already there. He had greeted them despite the black hair boy's attitude from yesterday. Was there something wrong and being laughed at for dreaming of being stronger than anyone? Only Sakura-chan had greeted him back slightly because she needed to be distracted while she mostly held her stomach from screaming for food.

Since he was not as hungry as the other two, he would do his own thing until his teacher came. He moved to another tree without his team spotting him and practiced the tree walk skill again. An hour later, their teacher would be finally arriving to the location he gave them. "Do you two know where Naruto is?" said Kakashi, sensing Naruto was training by another tree.

His mouth twitched downward underneath his mask when Sakura and Sasuke shook their heads. "Naruto, you can come back, so we can start our exam." Not a second later, Naruto appeared before them, looking refreshed compared to his other two starving teammates. Kakashi was going to say something when an earsplitting grumble swarmed the area they were in.

They all turned to the noise, and they saw the black hair boy holding his stomach with his face reddening. The blond ninja burst out laughing. "At least I see some of you haven't eaten. Anyway, you should be glad to know the reward is a triple lunchbox meal for ninja that first takes a bell." He showed the students the triple lunchbox, each one different from each other. Sakura and Sasuke just gulped at the food presented to them during their weakened state. They inched closer to really see if it was what they were thinking.

Sakura raised her arm, and Kakashi nodded to let her ask her question. "The reward is food!" Her tone was not of confusion but hopefulness.

"I thought you guys would want food since I ordered it." Kakashi let out a laugh while the rest looked annoyed. "All jokes aside all you three just have to take these two bells. The first one gets the reward, the second gets to stay on the team, and the last one, who didn't get a bell, gets to repeat academy for further training. Yup, there are only two bells before anyone asks," he said perfectly as Sakura raised her arm again. "Your exam is very easy; you just have to fight me and take a bell from me. Now if there are no more questions. Let's begin," said Kakashi, who was glad all three of his students decided to run.

He wished they were closer together and act like a team because they won't beat him if they stay like that.

A minute passed by when there was a rushing sound above the trees. Kakashi hopped as a league of kunai and shuriken pierced the ground where he was standing. While the one-eyed ninja was mid air, Naruto came towards him. In his reaction, Kakashi kicked the poor boy hard right on his face, but the boy poofed out. "Good, good, Naruto. Using your clone to judge your opponent is a solid tactic. One point for you," said Kakashi.

There was really no point for Naruto, but saying there was would increase the mistakes his students would make. Sakura and Sasuke were analytic and thought about things through, so adding an imaginary point system would pressure those two to think of it as benefit instead of a bluff. In their weakened state and lust for food, one of them would be bound to make a mistake.

He was right as Sasuke, of all people, moved closer to him. Too bad for Sasuke, he was too close to Kakashi. Kakashi leaped behind Sasuke, and he rapidly did seals, "_Wind Release: __Great Breakthrough_." Wind gathered around Kakashi's mouth; he released the gathering air to blast Sasuke to the open field he was previously at.

Sasuke yelled out when his back hit a medium size stone when rolling across the ground. "Lesson one: Ninjutsu, young Uchiha," said Kakashi, smiling at the boy struggling to get up. "_Earth Release: Mud __Entrapment_." Sasuke tried to get out of the ground he was in, recognizing the effect of that jutsu. Except, it was too late as the ground turned into mud and started devouring the boy. His back was the first, then his stomach, and next was his elbows. Soon enough, Sasuke was stuck with his head in a painfully arch motion with his fingers barely above the ground as the fresh mud turned back into earth. He cursed at being the first person trapped, "damn it, just fucking great."

Sakura watched in horror as her crush was forced to fly through the air and sink down to the earth. Her first instinct was to run out to help Sasuke-kun, but she was facing a jounin. She needed a plan to surprise Kakashi-sensei, but every plan in her head was null when she factored in Kakashi-sensei's strength. How could she face someone like Kakashi-sensei by herself?

Then a fly landed on her, so she slapped her leg.

Another fly landed on the same spot, so she slapped her leg again. Suddenly, there were flies swarming around her. Did she land on something? She killed the flies gathering around her. More flies were landing on her legs and arms. They kept coming and coming despite killing them in large amounts. She screamed when the flies covered her sight. She felt them on her ears, mouth and eyes. Their movements were becoming too disgust as she could feel their legs and eyes inside her. She felt them coming out of her body. The small bodies and legs crawling around her mouth and ears horrified her. She screamed louder, hoping someone would hear her terror.

All her screaming was in vain.

"Lesson two: Genjutsu," said Kakashi, "thinking too much would give your opponent to strike against you, Sakura. Still, it was commendable to have your guard up." For her not to blindly help out her crush, that one tiny moment was more than enough for Kakashi to train Sakura to become better.

Kakashi was still mildly impressed at the last member's stealth because he couldn't exactly pinpoint where the last member was. Kakashi had thought to use his dog summons, but he decided not to because it was going to be overkill to use against genin.

Suddenly, twenty clones of Naruto went after him. Three clones commenced third attacks at the same. One clone kicked from the left while another punched from the right, and the last clone tried to drop kick him after he dodged the two attacks. Another grouping of three attacked him after he quickly dispatched the first group. When he was going to make the next group disappear, four clones came at him doing hand seals. Two of them yelled out, "_Fire Release: Spark Flyer_!" Small flames came out of their mouths, not too much to cause a forest fire. Then, the last two yelled out a different technique, "_Wind Release: Shifting Breeze_!" The last two clones directed their mouths where the flames were. The oxygen in the wind combined with the small flames to create a fire too big for Kakashi to dodge it completely.

Kakashi was impressed even though some spots of his outfit were burned away. Naruto was turning out to be an interesting member. He had to wonder if the boy knew combining those two D-rank techniques would give an C-rank effect. Although his taijutsu form was severely lacking, Kakashi felt the boy was constantly adapting and refining his form and patterns. Naruto also had a good talent for thinking on the spot, which is good for ninjas to have if they want to survive longer.

"Well looks like I will need to show you lesson three: taijutsu," said Kakashi as he punched and kicked all the clones.

Promptly realizing it was delaying tactics, he jumped fast enough to avoid the _Great Fireball_ from the Uchiha member. He already did his seal for _Substitute_ as a storm of ninja weapons descended on his body. Landing on the open field, Kakashi saw the empty spot which once hosted Sasuke. Still sensing danger, he moved by taking one step back with two kunai sweeping past his sight. It was far too accurate to be from Naruto, so the unpredictable ninja also released Sakura.

Kakashi clapped. "You know this is not over, right? There is a great technique called _Bo__d__y Flicker_ I personally love to use." When he said that, he moved to Naruto's side and throwing him over one spot. Then, he moved to Sasuke again, tossing the boy on top of Naruto, and finally he moved to Sakura, where she completed the human pile of genin when she got thrown. "I must admit you three done well."

"Kakashi-sensei before you say anything, we got the two bells!" Sakura waved the silver bells around. Sakura had thrown three kunai with two forcing her teacher to back while the last one snapped the strings attached to the bells, she grabbed the bells before being tossed over. The bells glared against the still rising sun.

Kakashi feel something akin to pride swelling in his guts. Was this the same feeling other teachers felts when their groups succeeded in their tests? The team was rough around the edges, but they do work together. It was only possible for them to work together because Naruto was here. It also was this time that they finally figured out Naruto was getting crushed on their weight, so Sakura and Sasuke embarrassingly got off.

"Good, Naruto and Sakura hang onto the bells while I take Sasuke back to the academy," said Kakashi, not really intending to take Uchiha back. It would just hurt the pride of the boy; something the boy needed to get used to.

Sasuke gritted his teeth while making his fists and said, "I did enough to get a bell." Sasuke stood defiant towards Kakashi because he felt he did get to show he was talented since Kakashi went after him first. His revenge would not get accomplished inside that stupid school especially if he was placed in that stupid Iruka's classroom again. He was the best genin that school had seen; he should have been selected for the early start exam instead of the failure in his team.

The faster he did his revenge the faster he could finally get back to his life.

"Doing enough is not satisfactory. Most missions are pass or failure; doing enough won't be an excuse you can use," said Kakashi. "Once you accept your position of genin, you will be in our military force. What you do out there during the missions, it will reflect back to the village. But in order for you to even have a successful mission, you will need teamwork out there because there are others waiting to assassinate you in a minute." His sentence was not directed just at Sasuke but the others in the team as well. "I am saying this to all of you so you three don't find that situation too soon." He disappeared for a few seconds only to reappear with the reward meal on him. Walking away from the three genin, he said his final words, "stay until I come back and stay alert for anything."

* * *

Team Eight finally met up again, intending to go get the fourth item. The first three items were easy to get although it was embarrassing for Hinata and Kiba. Both of them did not want to talk about their ragged appearance to their normal looking teammate. When the group decided to split up to cover more ground, the four members of the team went where their individual talents were used.

The first item was picked up by Kiba and Akamaru using their inhuman ability to distinguish scents. Kiba had already familiarized the accents and tones of the unique smells of his team. So when he had separated from his human partners, his nose detected the womanly scent of his teacher, but it wasn't as potent as the real person. Following the scent, Kiba and Akamaru were shell shocked that they came onto the public open-air hot spring bathhouse. "No wonder, her scent was sort of watered down," remarked Kiba.

Akamaru barked agreeing his best friend. Realizing the fragrance of his teacher was coming from the women's side, Kiba feared for his life. Then, a thought entered his mind, and Kiba smirked saying to his best friend, "Hey, Akamaru, how about you going and get the item in the baths?" Akamaru disagreed by growling at Kiba. "Come on, I'll smell like wet dogs when I see the team again! Not only will I be a wet dog, I'll be a pervert wet dog. Do you want to see me that way?" Akamaru held his stand by growling louder. "Fine, fine, have it your way. I spoil you too much," said Kiba descending to his path of being labeled as a pervert while Akamaru barked happily.

The more Kiba was walking to the woman's side of the bathhouse, the women were taking notice of the boy teenager. Feeling the heated glares of the women, Kiba had wondered if his teacher has a grudge against him. Or did his mother and sister suggested to Kurenai-sensei about this type of arduous torment on him. Whatever the reason, he wanted to get out of this place already before he was threatened by the females.

The only reason the females haven't attacked him because Kiba was following Akamaru's lead. He walked slight behind the almost running dog to make it seem like all this was the idea of his dog. Kiba was not even looking at the seductive bodies of the females only covered with faint puffs of stream. He really wanted to look at the treasures in front of him, but he was on a mission he needed to complete unless he wanted to face the wrath of Shino and Kurenai-sensei. And if Kurenai-sensei told his mom and sis, he was going to be screwed so bad at the house.

Akamaru's barking increased in both frequency and volume, so Kiba hope to everything his best friend found the item they need. Akamaru jumped on the corner of the space to get a small statue. It was a wooden statue of the Second Hokage in his eyes, but to the rest of the females present, it looked like the boy grabbed women clothes using his dog. "Girls! Get the pervert now!"

"Run, Akamaru, run for your life!" shouted Kiba, running to the safety of somewhere from the herd of women. The women chased Kiba until something warded them off. This was the reason why Kiba smelled like wet dog and looked like some people kicked the life out of him when he appeared at the rendezvous point.

On a related note, Hinata would be having trouble with the opposite sex as well. When she split up, she had tried gathering clues to find the item. She was having difficulty searching for the item when she had no idea why she was even placed in this team. Even with her clan's bloodline limit, the _Byakugan, _she could only seen a limited range of one kilometer unlike her father's fifteen kilometers range. What good was she in this team if she cannot help them find a simple item?

"Hinata-san? Can you hear me?" said a voice in her intercom. Realizing the voice belonged to Shino-kun, she responded a conformation that she did hear. "Good. One of my insects picked an chakra signature similar to Kurenai-sensei near your location. I have already sent another ten of my insects there because I know you will be able to pick out the small army with your _Byakugan." _

Trusting his words on it, Hinata activated her clan's bloodline limit. Her world of color changed into a blacken land with chakra lines, shapes, and waves radiating off living people. Since she was in the city, there was too many chakra human outlines amassing in her slight. She focused her vision to pinpoint small lifeforms such as the Aburame's bugs.

However, the larger chakra signals were still greater in her field of sight. She bit her lips and tried again. She focused harder, feeling the throbbing of her veins. Her eyes were too concentrated, and she felt each each movement in her eyes, looking for those tiny specks of chakra in every corner of her furthest range.

At the degree nearest to her blind spot, she saw a flicking group of small chakra signals.

She rotated her head and saw the gathering of eleven of chakra dancing around. She did not disengaged her ability and speed through the buildings. She did not even notice the distance between her and the insects were approximately one and a half kilometers.

She was just glad she was able to find Shino's clue.

When she relieved herself of the strain of the bloodline limit, her colored world returned. Seeing the huge display with a very muscular man and toned woman, Hinata concluded she was at one of the gyms Konoha has. The exterior of the building wasn't pleasing to look at, and the paints were very tacky compared to other gyms. The dark tinted windows and glass weren't too inviting for outsiders either. But she would go inside because Shino led her here, and she trust his words. She felt Shino's insects landing on her person before she entered the building.

Pushing through the doors, she was astonished to see the insides were very modern. Maybe, the concept of the gym was the same as ninjas to look underneath the surface. From treadmills and boxing ring to a martial art section, strengthening machines, and weapon arena, this gym seemed had everything to effective help anyone achieve one's ideal body shape.

Hinata was in luck when there was no one at the front desk. She knew she had a meek demeanor that most people don't recognize her even if she was standing in front of them. She quickly dodged everyone, who were too busy working out than paying attention to their surrounding.

Feeling movement of bugs in her hand, she repeatedly blinked as Shino's insects were arranging themselves to make arrows for her to follow. They directed her all the way into the shower room. She had hoped the item was out in the open, but the insects were pointing at the shower room. Now she did not want people to think she was doing this because she fancied it, so she looked around the area first. Sighing, she went in quietly, and fortunately for her, she found no one inside the showers.

Once there, she was faced with an obstacle as rows and rows of lockers were lined perfectly. But thanks again at Shino's insects, they were able to locate where the item was stored at. She knew the locker was different to the rest when she touched the surface. It was strangely warm in the cool conditioned shower room.

"Hinata-san, have you found the item yet?" Her intercom rang with Shino's voice.

"Yes, Shino-kun. There seemed to be a lock," said Hinata through her microphone. "It is unusual because it is warm despite the temperature in the room, Shino-kun."

"Hinata-san use your _Byakugan_, and if my hypothesis is right, the lock is a chakra lock," responded Shino. Doing as what Shino instructed, she did see chakra strings on the inanimate object and it extended to the surface of the small locker. It was a rope of chakra connected at different points of the locker. She did not know what she was suppose to do. It was an oddity to her eyes because she was so used to see only living object project chakra. "Can you see the point where the chakra accumulates the most? It should disable after breaking the point."

"Shino-kun, there are three equal points in this locker." She bit her lips again. How was she suppose to disable the locker now since there are more than one point.

She only heard the buzzing sound of static in her earpiece. "Hinata-san, you will need to strike the points semi-simultaneously. I suggest going after the furthest points from the center, then strike the last one a microsecond later."

She nodded as she used her clan's unique fight style. She was able to get the first two points by palming the points; however, the last point was too far for her to reach before the previous points regained the chakra. She tried a few more times, but she was too slow. "Shino-kun, there is no way for me to do this." She knew it. How could she be any help to a team?

She was close to breaking down at the failure of not even opening up a simple lock.

"Hinata-san, you might not believe this, but I believe you can do this. You are the only one in our group with superior chakra handling. This is your task to complete," said Shino without his regular frigid tone. There was a gentle warm like a pocket of sunshine accent when he encouraged Hinata.

She had never thought Shino would help her out like that.

She nodded, washing the gathering tears in her eyes away. She thought instead of palming the two points, she focused her chakra to be extensions as she could have the same power but more precision as a palm strike. She looked at the tips of her fingers, manipulating her chakra to form needle shapes on her fingers. Using her needle, she lightly tapped the points before striking the center point.

She smiled when the locker clicked opened, informing her it was finally opened and deactivated her bloodline limit. Grabbing the wooden statue with the likeness of the First Hokage, she heard voices of men coming in. She covered her eyes when very handsome and sculpted hunks starting coming over with only a towel loosely hanging around their hips. She did not know she was under a genjutsu because she was running away from the incoming men with a red face.

She hit her forehead on the door to the main room of the gym when a guy, who wore reveal trunks, called out to her. Then, she tripped over some gym equipments when a guy, who wore low rise underwear, tried to grab her. She was in a distress state when she arrived to the rendezvous point.

Thankfully, she was finally released by chasing hunks when Shino released her from it.

The only member of their group who did not get any trouble seemed to have been Shino. This item was in a ninja bar where Shino could not transform into an adult without the rest of the patrons seeing right though him. However, Shino only needed the small creatures of the earth to do his bidding. He control the bugs to search out the item for him, and they also delivered the item into his hands. His manner at receiving his item, a wooden statue of the Third Hokage, seemed to epitomize the being of Shino: silent, effective, adroit, and clever.

Thus, Team Eight revealed their items to each other, noting they were the historic leaders of Konoha. "So, what is next location, Shino," said Kiba, who still looked around to see if those vicious females were after him. He was so not going anywhere near that bathhouse for a long time.

"We go back," said Shino.

Kiba stayed grounded where he was because he wanted to know the reason why they were going back. "Wait, we are still missing the statue for the Fourth Hokage," said Kiba. He knew how to count, and three out of four does not add up. There was one more statue out there. He did not want to fail this exam when they were so close to finishing it.

"Do not worry, Kiba. The last statue is with Kurenai-sensei. Before you ask on why, the reason is the set up of this particular exam. Kurenai-sensei set up this exam like a tracker routine. By going through points of population such as a bathhouse, gym, and bar, we were able to recover three statues which could represent the idea of finding clues. What is the procedural step after gathering information on a target?"

"Confirming with the captain of the squad," said Hinata, reciting that information from one of the school's lessons.

"Correct. By going to that logic, our next location is going back to our teacher." Not seeing any faults with that sort of reasoning, Kiba went with the rest of the team back to the start of their exam.

The sun was positioned almost at the highest peak in the sky; it was closer to lunch than they had expected. Team Eight felt hunger invading their physical state. However, they did not even stop by the numerous restaurants residing around the interior of Konoha although the food galore was tempting. It would just take one comment from any one of them to make them stop and eat anywhere. Yet, the idea of completing their genin exam was more enticing than any restaurant they could think of.

Team Eight finally arrived where their jounin master was waiting for them. They did not run towards Kurenai-sensei because they didn't want to waste their energy on unnecessary measures. She only spoke to them when they were at arms' length. "So have you found all four statues?" questioned Kurenai. Of course, they did not have all four statues with them because she had the last one. She wanted to hear their thoughts about their exam and explanation on why she set up this exam for them.

"Well, Kurenai-sensei, we only got three of the four statues because Shino figured you have the last one for us." When she touched the statue in her back pocket, she felt the small bites of Shino's insects already infesting her pouch. There was no way she could bluff her way out of this, so she took out the statue to let her team see they were correct.

"So what have you learned about this exam?"

"The value of teamwork," Shino simply stated. "We all had talents suited to find the statues in different locations. I would not have been gone to the bathhouse since the water would endanger my insects and hinder my abilities. Kiba was able to locate the first statue because he was able to smell it, and he was a boy," said Shino.

"Would you care to elaborate, Shino?"

Shino pushed his glasses up as it was slipping on his nose. "My insects detected an illusion on the first statue, and I saw the females chasing Kiba. So I concluded the first statue had an illusion that affects the female population. Using my insects, I made a wall of bugs to scare away the females."

"You are absolutely correct in your analysis." Shino was proving to be a central figure in this group. "How did you get the second statue?"

"Hinata-san proved undeniably vital at the recovery of the second statue because her ability to manipulate chakra was needed to disable the lock," said Shino. "It was also due to Shino's encouragement that I was able to unlock it," interrupted Hinata, not wanting to diminish Shino's contribution to getting the lock open.

Kurenai's eyes met each one of her genin. Hopefulness and delight showed through their eyes. "Then, I will officially lead this Team Eight. Congratulations to all three of you," said Kurenai as pride was swelling inside her seeing the blissful hugs the team exchanged to each other even Shino joined in. Feeling the jounin male behind her, she said, "however, there is one more mission you three have to complete before the end of the day."

"Yuuhi Kurenai is right," said a silver hair man, who stepped away from Kurenai's shadow. "Hello, Team Eight. My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I have a request for you," said the man. "What I need from you three is attack my team and get my bells back for me," he stated further.

"Kurenai-sensei, why do we need to do this," complained Kiba, who was finding his stomach's demands more important at the moment. Kiba saw the tall man coming his way, and the man gave him some emergency food snacks. By the time Kakashi came back to Kurenai's side, Kiba already unwrapped the snack and ate it.

"Don't worry, your payment is sushi for dinner," said Kakashi, "expensive toro sushi, and some barbeque for your lunch." Those words totally turned Kiba on the side of this mission. "Don't worry, my team is pretty strong." He vanished in a flash.

"Seriously, who was that guy?" said Kiba as pieces of food from the snack dropped to the ground. Akamaru ate the crumbles and tasted the meat in the food. Both the Inuzuka members burped at slightly satisfying their hunger.

"Kakashi has a moniker of Copy Ninja because he has more jutsu than anyone I know, and he is probably one of the top ranking jounin ninjas of all Konoha. He trained under the late Fourth Hokage as well," said Kurenai, wanting to fill her students gaps of knowledge on Konoha ninjas.

Seeing their starstruck faces especially Shino's brows reaching his headband, they probably thought Kakashi was nothing too special. "That old man was taught by the Fourth Hokage!? Holy shit!" Kiba yelled out with Akamaru barking at his disbelief as well.

"Language, Kiba. Yes, Kakashi is a powerful ninja, and his team has been taught by him," she lied at her most relax state. There were one human detector in her group because Shino seemed to have been taught at spotting lies through body movement. "His ninjas seemed to become lazier once they had found out the fame Kakashi had, and he wanted to whip them up to shape so to speak."

"B-but they are still Konoha ninjas," said Hinata, expressing her doubt while looking sick she had to fight her village's ninjas. She knew when she got her first dangerous rank mission, she would need to fight other ninjas. But to fight Konoha ninjas right away seemed too wrong for her. However, more of her fear was coming from failing both her team and clan.

"Hinata, you must understand. Trackers are mostly used to hunt down betrayers of the villages, and this mission serves as practice to those ninjas, who will used everything to survive against pursuers. Most trackers would intercept betrayers and criminals, and sometimes, we will need to engage into combat before they hide away forever," said Kurenai. She dug things out of her pouch, handing the things to her team.

The things were half masks that contoured around the eyes. Kurenai had put seals on the corners of the eyes, so her team would see an illusion reflected on Team Seven with different faces and voices. It also served to hide her students' appearances from Kakashi's students. "This will help prevent your appearances to be seen. I expect each one of you to be successful in acquiring those bells. I have conditions which are Hinata cannot use her bloodline limit and I will keep Akamaru during the bout. I will not accept failure from a team I am personally leading," said Kurenai, still annoyed that she agreed with the wage in the first place.

She would not be drinking with Kakashi anytime soon although there were a few methods Kakashi could use to try his luck. She shook her head; it was not the time to be thinking of those things. "Move out, Team Eight." The official leader of the team ordered them with precise conviction.

* * *

Kakashi was watching his team interact with each other after coming back from the meeting place of Team Eight. They were still not coming together, but Naruto was trying to bridge the gap seeing he offered his reward to the rest of his teammates as he saw the boxes on the laps of the other two when he came back. Unknown to Kakashi as he was talking to Team Eight, Sakura accepted the food and thanked Naruto while Sasuke eventually took the offer.

The sitting arrangement between his team was Sakura was on the center and Naruto sat close to his teammate to the left of Sakura while Sasuke sat away from the of the group. The Uchiha had an attitude he needed to weed out, and it seemed the Uchiha did not listen well to others. Kakashi wondered if he could help the Uchiha with his problem although it would be tough since Kakashi thought the attitude came from Sasuke's trauma from the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

Each of his students were interesting and mysterious in their way. A little push could help them a long way.

It was time for Team Eight to be arriving, and, on cue, he saw the beautiful curls of Kurenai. It reminded him when he woke up this morning, he had found Kurenai holding onto him like teddy bear. He relished the touch of her fingers surrounding his body and her head resting near his chest with her hair covering their flesh from the morning sun. Her natural scent filled his sense when his head moved closer to hers. It has been such a long time since he held another woman, but Kurenai was not just another woman.

Nonetheless thinking about Kurenai was not the right time, he needed to remain focus.

"Good timing, Team Eight. My team just finished eating and now resting," said Kakashi, pointing at his students. Shino, Hinata, and Kiba saw the group. They were older students at least of fifteen years of age. The one in the center was a nubile female with an alluring body and cerulean eyes, the one in the left was a male that looked like Kakashi, even down to the mask, except he had green hair, and the one in the right was a male with long, graying hair and ripping muscles. "Proceed however you like."

The two teachers left using the _Body Flicker _skill. They would be watching the bout in a distance.

"So what's the plan, Shino," whispered the usually loud boy. He would listen to the strategist because he wanted to eat some expensive sushi. Considering they lived in a forest, finding fresh seafood was difficult. He was not the pickiest eater at all besides Kakashi-sensei would treat them to barbeque as well, so it was a win-win situation.

Shino did not respond because he was thinking why the teachers were planning all this out. He already figured out the masks they were wearing had a genjutsu place to distort the identify of Kakashi's team. All the same, the idea of testing out his skills against other ninjas was tempting because there were hardly anyone who would want to duel with a Aburame. He would play the game the teachers set for him. "Since they have been a team longer, we will need to divide them up. I will summon a swarm to attack the group and you two take out the one in the center and left." He explained the plan by writing it down with a twig on the ground. "Hinata, can you still use the Gentle Fist?"

"Yes, I still can, but it would be less effective without the _Byakugan._" Her fingers suddenly found their opposites digits without her notice.

"Good because I feel the male on the left has the most chakra among the group. It would serve us greatly to disable him. Kiba, you go after the center and keep her away from the group. For some reason, she would be a decisive person in the bout if we left her for too long. I will stall the last person until you two are finish," said Shino. Kiba and Hinata nodded and were ready to commence the attack by going into their position. Shino extended his hands forward, and his insects immediately started crawling out. It only took a few minutes until a swarm was ready.

Hinata was on top of the tree because she already mastered the tree climbing skill, and she served as the lookout. She would jump on top of the male when the swarm invaded the resting ninjas. Like bringers of a plague, the insects rushed on the unsuspecting ninjas. She leaped, feeling the air brushed against her skin, and she kicked the male with both of her legs. "What the hell?!" shouted the bass voice of the male, who held his bleeding nose.

"We are under attack!" shouted the muscular male of the group.

But Hinata was not paying attention to the rest. Her only goal was to knock out the male, so she could help her teammates. The male did a seal and said, "_Shadow Clone!_" Clones of the male appeared. They started attacking her in groups, but their movements were far too slow that Hinata easily dodged and tapped her palms on the stomach as a counterattack. She was surprised at how easily the clones disappeared because she would always lose to her father.

Yet, the thoughts of her team riding on this mission was enough to make her serious again instead of reminiscing. She thought of the male as an enemy ninja, a threat to the peace of Konoha.

She sped at the male because she saw the one seal again. Another army surround her, and they attacked her all at once. It was that moment she became a fighting beast as she palm strike and finger tap the clones to oblivion. "No freaking way," said the male. There was an accent of excitement that she was eerily comfortable with. It was like the times she heard Naruto's joy at succeeding in his practices.

Then she heard Kiba say, "Alright, guys I got a bell!" It made her focus again on the present instead of Naruto-kun. She needed to hit the male before the male released another wave of clones. Hinata jumped and dropped down right in front of the male. She executed an array of strikes, laying waste to the male.

She breathed out; she was becoming tired using the fighting style of her clan. The male should be knocked out.

However, she looked over the male. She was shocked at how the male was trying to get up even after she landing major blows of his body.

Seeing the shining bell, she grabbed it before the male got up. After all, she had a mission to accomplish.

She did the right thing because she heard the clap produced from a man. She turned to see Kakashi-sensei with Kurenai-sensei. "Good job, Team Eight, you can take off your masks now," said her teacher.

Upon removing her masks, she noticed the team she saw before turned into familiar people since they were classmates. She saw Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, and someone dropped stones on her stomach when she realized it was Team Seven. "Hinata-chan?" It was a voice she was very used to. Turning her head once again, she saw the male she fought become Naruto-kun. She just fought against Naruto-kun, and she used her clan's techniques against him.

It was becoming too much for her to handle. The next thing she knew everything became black. "Wow, Hinata-chan!?" said Naruto, catching the girl before she fell to the ground. He snapped his fingers near her face, but she did not stir. She was fainted right on the spot. He yelled to his teacher, "Kakashi-sensei, Hinata-chan fainted! I think she is sick; we need to get her into the hospital! " He pulled Hinata onto his back and secured her by wrapping his arms around her like a child.

Kakashi chuckled. "Don't worry, Naruto. She is just tire from running all day." Kakashi smiled, thinking about the real reason why Hinata fainted. At first, he did not really think the Hyuuga heiress had the skills to take down Naruto, but she proved worthy of her clan name during the bout. The very least, he need to teach several basic taijutsu moves to the boy before Naruto could take a C-rank mission. "Anyway, all of us need to talk."

His students and Kurenai's students sat down. He noticed the sitting formation was different between the two teams. Kurenai's team sat together with Naruto, who seemingly was talking to Shino and Kiba about his morning. His team, on the other hand, were scattered from each other. Sakura was near Kurenai's group but wasn't too close enough to actually engaged with the group. Sasuke was still far away from everyone else. "We are here to have a discussion about today," said Kakashi, looking at each of his students.

"I don't get why are we doing this. This is a waste of time," said the Uchiha. He crossed his arms, wanting to shoot daggers at Kakashi. Everything about this team was not going to make him come closer to that _demon_.

All he needed from anyone was power: He wanted pure dominance over anything. Power was the only concept he understood and desired to get his revenge against the demon.

He would not become that weak boy from the past that cowered behind the door while his family was being slaughtered in front of his eyes.

"Yet, a simple tracker team was able to overwhelm the highest ranking shinobi and kunoichi of the year. If they were a real enemy, you three would have died already." Kakashi said that phase in a such deep, bass tone which added to the seriousness. Naruto and Sakura gulped at the realistic possibility of dying that way. "Now before anyone says any more questions, tell me how was it possible for Team Seven to be defeated." He directed that particular question to his young and inexperienced members.

Sakura had no outward answer as she felt the grasses beneath her fingers. However, her inner thoughts said, _"Cha! If I knew they were coming, I would have warned the Sasuke-kun and Naruto about the incoming attack."_ She stood still because she didn't want to hear her teacher to criticize her.

"We lack teamwork, and we were unprepared even through you warned us about being alert," said Naruto, not really fearing the criticism Sakura wanted to avoid. Naruto learned to take advice from criticisms, and he understood he can get stronger due to it. Iruka had talked about his tremendous lack of chakra control during that week and joked about it being like a toddler. Those joking comments encouraged Naruto to excel on the control exercises.

"You are correct. Team Eight won against Team Seven because they ambushed your unit at an unexpected time and divided Team Seven to decrease the overall strength. Shino uniquely planned the strength of his team against you three because he assessed the threat level somewhat accurately," said Kakashi while his one eye faced Shino. Kakashi said, continuing on when Shino didn't visibly flinched, "he had Hinata attack Naruto, Kiba towards Sakura while he stalled Sasuke."

"Eh? What do you mean," asked Naruto, who was still looking over unconscious girl. He saw the pretty lady from yesterday's meeting, remembering her name to be Kurenai, coming over and gently taking Hinata to her side behind him. She just smiled at him and signaled him to face forward to his teacher.

"Do you know the last name of Hinata?" Kakashi probably thought Naruto did not know what the Hyuuga clan was renown for.

"Yeah, Hyuuga. What does that have to do with anything?"

Before any smart statements come from Sasuke or Kiba, seeing the twitches from both boys, Kakashi already said, "the Hyuuga clan have great knowledge about the chakra system, and they can hurt the system, shutting it down permanently. You know what that means right, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes almost fell out of their sockets because he knew the importance of the chakra system to ninjas, and he said, "You mean Hinata-chan can do all that?"

"All members of the Hyuuga clan have that ability. This is the reason why Shino chose Hinata to go after you, Naruto, since you have the largest chakra reserve out of your team," explained Kakashi.

"Darn, Shino you are a sly person," commented Naruto with a hint of approval. Naruto knew the tactics of taking out the largest threats. As a somewhat retired prankster, he had to plan a majority of his pranks within a perimeter of ninjas attempting to catch him. So, Naruto would look and find out the likest routes ninjas would go after him, and he would sabotage the routes with his homemade traps.

"I became a sly person because I wanted to win the bout," replied Shino.

"It wasn't only the shrewd choice Shino made. He also paired up Kiba with Sakura, knowing Kiba would aggressively attack Sakura, whose taijutsu is not the greatest in the group. Furthermore, Shino also put an immense amount of his insects on Sasuke to drain his chakra faster. Simply put, Shino had good leadership and crucial thinking," remarked Kakashi.

"But Kakashi-sensei, what was the point of all this?" questioned Sakura. She understood the weakness of their team when Kakashi explained it to them.

"What I wanted to show you three was the danger of being ninjas. The higher ranking missions this team would acquired would mostly be in enemy territories. I wanted for you three to start experiencing unknown attacks before we face such a situation first hand," said the silver hair man. "This is, however, not the last of these surprise attacks."

"Are you serious?!" shouted Naruto, standing up. His grinning smile and eyes that caught the shine of the sun told Kakashi Naruto was excited at the prospect of fighting again. At least, one of his students was willing to improve himself. Sasuke displayed boredom throughout the entire discussion. The expressions Sakura was exhibiting were hard to decipher; the expressions ranged from shock, disgust, annoyance, defiance, angry, and glee.

"Anyway, Kakashi-sensei, you promised us barbeque for lunch," proclaimed Kiba as his stomach was threatening to roar around them. Akamaru was also whining of wanting some food.

"Yes, I remember. Team Seven that's it for today. We will start training further tomorrow although if you are hungry you can stay," said Kakashi. Sasuke immediately walked, going back to his estate to study more of the scrolls. On the other hand, Sakura was torn between her crush and the chance of food to diminish her hunger. One growl from the demanding organ made her stay with the rest of the group.

When they moved out to go to the restaurant, Hinata was coming out of her dizziness. "Hinata-chan, are you okay?" asked Naruto, worrying about her while touching her forehead to see if she had a fever. He reflected back on the memories from that day, and he felt a touch of feelings from his clones. Along with Hinata in her garden, there was a fuzzy feeling around his upper body Naruto couldn't really describe even if he had all the time in the world. His action did not go unnoticed by others.

"I'm well. Thank you for worrying, Naruto-kun," softly said Hinata. When the party of eight entered the establishment, Hinata thought her imagination was playing with her because she felt the area's temperature dropped many degrees. Her eyes followed a waitress coming towards them except Kakashi and Kurenai broke from the group to talk to to the waitress.

The waitress had a greatly deformed scar running up across her mildly aging face. That wound would come from having contract with corrupted chakra. Her ferocious staring had many of the newly installed genin put on their guard up. "Sir and ma'am, I am afraid we do not have any room to host your company," the woman said politely. Yet, each of the genin felt a dangerous entity around their necks that was tightening roughly every second they stood there.

Kakashi turned around and spoke, "I guess we need to pick another place? Do you all agree?" When he said those words, the genin were able to freely breathe again. The genin had a collective opinion which was they rather breathe when they were eating instead feel that sort of intense pressure again. Any place was better than this.

"Kakashi-sensei, let's go to Ichiraku!" Naruto bounced back after taking the blunt of that vehement force from the waitress. He hadn't seen Ayame and Teuchi since finally getting off his house arrest, and he was missing the godly taste of ramen. He hurried all his fellow classmates to get out of the restaurant, so they can get to the finest dining establishment he has ever known faster.

Kakashi and Kurenai turned around to face the waitress after seeing the genin left the restaurant. Even with her experience against senior level ninjas from different villages, she felt chills when Kakashi said, "Thank you for protecting the village during the Kyuubi attack. However, my student is not to be harm or looked at that way under my watch. I am only saying this instead of acting out because you have served Konoha faithfully before. But my student is human."

He had taken Kurenai's arm and dragged her away from the waitress. "Unhand me, Kakashi. I was also going to make my piece against that woman." She twisted herself out of Kakashi's firm, masculine grip, and she stopped to glare at the man's back.

"Sorry, Kurenai. Staying any longer, I would have retraced what I said," said Kakashi, saying Kurenai's name without her surname.

It shocked her for Kakashi to say her name like that, and she saw him being stiff as a stone statue. Knowing it would not do any good with two irritable jounin in the genin presence, she simply said, "They are my students as well there, Kakashi. It would have been me saying those line to that woman if Naruto was in my team. Which leads me to my question, how did you even get the Hyuuga and Aburame to agree for each clan's heir apparent to be on the same team?"

"It is a secret, Yuuhi Kurenai," said Kakashi with his smiling one eye as he turned towards her. This was the Kakashi she knew: the secretive and infuriating man who wanted to shoulder every burden there was in the world if he could.

She gently said, "Let's hurry before Naruto ate all the ramen in the shop."

There was no one in Konoha who did not know the appetite for ramen the prankster boy had. It had legendary status such as the Legendary Sannin or Sage of the Six Paths among the residents of Konoha.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites! Thank you for reading this project! **

**Question. Why was the clone of Naruto acting differently from the original?  
Answer. In a episode of the anime, there was a scene where clones rebelled against Naruto because Naruto overworked his clones in a boat. So getting by that episode, clones do have some independent thinking. Plus when Naruto summoned his clones, there was no clear goal for the clones to complete besides distracting the village, which the clone still fulfilled. **

**Sorry for people expecting an epic fight between Team Seven and Team Eight, but that's for later chapters and arcs. Considering the summary, I do have the story plan as far as the start of _Naruto Shippuden, _and that is where the summary comes from. Since it apparently NaruHina month, there will be an update with a new chapter before the month ends that has a scene of Naruto and Hinata in it. **


	5. Testing the Boundaries

"Have you all ordered yet," asked Kurenai fondly to the young inspiring ninjas, grateful to finally arriving at the ramen store. She started, once again, feeling graceless around Kakashi without the group of genin because she remembered those clear and lustful images of how she acted towards Kakashi's lovemaking.

Being a ninja had its downfalls!

She was so appreciative her apartment was soundproof because the range she was reaching could have woken up dead ninjas to fight again. It become apparent to her the soundproof would saved her from more than defending herself from sound-based illusions from enemies.

"No, Kurenai-sensei. Naruto is hogging the menu Ayame-san gave to us," said Kiba with a tenderness emphasis on Ayame's name. It clicked to Kurenai why Kiba did not want to look at the menus on the stands. Kiba had a puppy crush on this Ayame.

"You do know there are other menus you can look at, Kiba," said the female member of Team Seven near to Kiba. At the very least, Kurenai noted the group of genin sat near each other on the large clean, circular table. From her left to right in an arc, it was Hinata, Naruto, Shino, Sakura, and Kiba with two empty spaces for Kakashi and her. Seeing Kakashi pulled the chair next to Hinata for her, Kurenai thanked him when he sat down because it pleasantly surprised her again that Kakashi had gentlemanly manners.

"But that's the menu Ayame gave us," said Kiba as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sakura just shook her head while continuing to read what she wanted to get. There was many things on the menu she wanted to try out. A warmth spread through her body while looking at their group. It was nice eating out with people even if Sasuke-kun was not here.

"Let's try the hot pot!" said Naruto, exploding at the new item, "I mean it has vegetables and we can eat it among side our ramen although I did not even know they expanded the menu."

"Wow, Naruto actually willingly to order vegetables, I thought I will never see the day," said Ayame. She laughed after looking at Naruto's expression. She continued saying, "My dad considered expanding the business a little bit since we made some money from our favorite customer." Everyone in the table turned to see their waitress especially Kiba, who was waving his hands out to her. Her cheerful and beaming personality was much preferred by the genin. They felt safe here.

Naruto introduced her to the teachers. Then Kiba wanting to make a lasting impression kissed her hand when she walked around. Ayame giggled at the act, seeing it was really harmless. "And what will all of you have today," asked Ayame with her pen and pad ready.

Everyone ordered their choice, and Ayame repeated their order, "One large order of in-season vegetable with tofu and beef hot pot for everyone. For Hinata-san, you want a miso tofu ramen. Both Sakura-san and Shino-san want healthy veggie ramen with seaweed on the side. Kurenai-san wants miso crab leg with seaweed on the side as well, and Kakashi-san wants spicy beef with deep fried tofu strips. Kiba-kun wants pork miso. For Naruto-kun, the usual order, but more veggies for the growing boy," happily humored Ayame. Kiba enthusiastically nodded when Ayame said his name with affection although he did not and will never know it was only brotherly affection.

"Hey, Iruka says eating more diverse food is good for the body," replied Naruto to the walking waitress, "plus, Iruka makes really great veggie meals!" Thank goodness, Ayame was facing away from the group because she blushed when she heard Iruka's name.

"Why do you call Iruka-sensei Iruka now, Naruto," inquired Sakura. She left out baka out of Naruto's name since they were teammates, and they will need to get along. However, he was still the annoying boy that asked for dates despite not her wanting to because her mother told her only to find strong ninjas to date.

"Of course, it is because Iruka is my guardian now," said Naruto; he was exhilarated at his primary goal completed for today. Nothing could make this day any worse.

And he meant nothing could possible make this day, today, any worse!

"How did that happen? Is that how you learned that cool _Shadow Clone_," said Kiba, his nose itching for a story. He had heard Naruto yelled out his technique and knew some details about that infamous technique from his sister. Since Naruto got Kakashi at the same time as he got his, Naruto could have never pulled such as powerful move in one day. Although, he had never pegged Naruto or Iruka wanting to be with a family because, to him, they seemed content with themselves.

Sensing Naruto would say something about stealing the Forbidden Scroll, Kakashi altered the flow of conversation, "Your teacher was a skilled ninja." He gave a quickly pointed look at Naruto, who understood the topic of stealing event was not to be discussed. Kakashi easily lied, "If Iruka did not want to be an academy teacher, he could have been easily leading one of the teams today as a jounin. He has the potential."

"Then why did he not teach us cooler moves? We would have been kickass ninjas already!" explained Kiba, not detecting the lie Kakashi made up.

"The academy has very strict rules about the proper techniques they teach to students. Iruka had to comply with those instructions," said Kurenai, reinforcing Kakashi's lie to be the truth for the genin, who did not know the truth.

Hinata stayed quiet, understanding the complications of Naruto's situation. The clone she talked to give her why Naruto stole the scroll, and she would keep Naruto's secret if she needed to. She understood lying was necessary for survival, so she did not flinch when their teachers were telling the others the lie.

"Okay, I got everyone's orders," said Ayame, dispensing the serious atmosphere that settled onto the group. She displayed she was a waitress of an outstanding of experience as she gave everyone their orders correctly: She did not even forget about the Aburame boy, who appreciated being remembered by the waitress. "Enjoy, and I will be here. Just call." She smiled, leaving to get the orders from other patrons of the store. When they all took the first bite, they quickly understood why this was Naruto's favorite place as the soothing broth warmed their insides, the spices sizzled their mouths, and the noddles had the perfect texture and bite.

In a minor event on the table that would sparked a different fate in two ninjas, Sakura said, "hey, Naruto can you pass the black pepper?" When an unknown hand gave her the glass container of pepper, Sakura followed the hand back to the owner. "Oh thank you, Shino-san." Her vision had not registered the mysterious bug user. His only responded was nodding while effortlessly eating his meal.

"So, Kiba, you want to learn cool jutsu. Why is that?" said Kakashi, already finished with his meal.

It amazed Kurenai at how fast Kakashi ate especially pulling down his mask each time to get the food. She concentrated on eating, so she would not remember on how his flesh felt wonderfully rubbing against her cheek. Hopefully, this would be the only get-together Kurenai would have with Kakashi for a long time until she could get her memories and thoughts under control.

She was a ninja for heaven's sake; she cannot be under control of her apparently awakening desires.

"It 's cause I want to be a kickass ANBU ninja! That's my dream," shouted Kiba even through Kakashi was next to him. Sakura slapped his arm because he had practically yelled at her ear despite the noise not directed at her. Yet, Sakura was not really annoyed with Kiba since she had Kiba and Naruto as classmates for years. However, it was not really too hard considering Kiba just grinned at her when he looked at her.

Kakashi only smiled under his mask. "Hmm, that is an admirable dream. So Shino and Hinata, what are your dreams?" asked Kakashi, wanting to start the conversation anew. He stared at the pivot figure in the Team Eight.

"I want to know all manners of ninjutsu, so I can help develop my clan's jutsu further. My clan relies too heavily on our insects, so I want to find jutsu to incorporate along with our use of insects," commented Shino, who pushed his slipping glasses back.

"Still it was awesome you had your insects swarm on us," said Naruto. "I could barely see anyone except for Hinata-chan." He noticed the girl blushing at his words, and she was slightly biting her lips with her teeth. He concluded she felt sorry about hitting him because of her personality. "Don't worry about almost knocking me out, Hinata-chan."

Her face further redden at the praise Naruto gave to her. Then, she looked up to notice everyone was waiting for her to say anything about her dream. In her mind, she thought she was yelling out instead she faintly said but loud enough for everyone to hear in reality. "M-my dream is become worthy of my clan. Like Shino-kun, I-I want to expand my clan's jutsu."

"Those are all wonderful dreams to have. I know Kurenai will be able to teach you," said Kakashi.

Kurenai, on the other hand, put up her guard. Kakashi saying her just her name was a sign Kakashi was going to do something she would not like or be annoyed with. She could imagine the hidden smirks underneath that mask; getting rid of that insufferable mask out would be her goal now. "Despite having teams for us to lead, we can teach other students with the permission of their teacher. What I am trying to say is I can teach you three some jutsu I learned over the years. With Kurenai being a genjutsu master among the jounin, she could teach my students to control their chakra," suggested Kakashi.

Kurenai finally figured it out this was his plan from the start when he proposed the wage. He rattled her up, so he could have her teach his students. At first she was going to call him out. But then, Kurenai turned hearing the excitement from her most vocal member; however, another deeper part of her mind was telling her she would be in near proximity to Kakashi.

At first, she thought to reject the offer.

But looking at her at students again, she could not do that. "Yes, except for missions, we can train together."

Not remembering he was in a restaurant, Kiba jumped up from his chair! "WOOAH! I would get to be under Kakashi-sensei! I will be under a student of the Fourth Hokage! How great is that!" Kiba yelled out and tossing Akamaru in the air.

"The Fourth Hokage?!" said Naruto, his voice emphasizing each syllable. Each syllable felt like stones were dropped on his heart. His teacher was the student of his father. Did Kakashi-sensei know about him then? Is that why Kakashi-sensei was testing him?

"Yeah, Naruto, I thought you already knew. Your teacher was a student of the Fourth Hokage. Oh man, this is going to be good," said Kiba, thinking all the cool stuff he could learn from Kakashi.

Naruto wanted to get out of the store now because his mood was rapidly becoming depressing. He was trying to block out the applause the group was experiencing. Only the thought of being rude to the others was the one thing keeping him from getting out as he even hid his tightening hands under the table.

Apparently there was some karma because a ninja appeared before the group and said, "Kakashi-san, Kurenai-san. Hokage-sama requests your presences immediately." The ninja messenger left as soon she delivered her mission.

"Ah, it looks like a mission. Sorry, I will treat you guys to sushi some other time," said Kakashi as he took out his wallet and paid for lunch with change to spare. "And Naruto, we will talk when I come back." He had seen Naruto's brows bending down and biting his lips enough to bleed before Naruto controlled his emotions.

After their jounin teachers, the remaining ninjas all bid farewell to each other and went their separate way. Kiba went first, who couldn't wait until he got home to tell his family about his day. Since Sakura and Shino lived the same way, Sakura extended her courtesy to Shino when she said they could go the same time.

The only genin left were Naruto and Hinata at the restaurant.

* * *

Using speed they acquired over the years, Kakashi and Kurenai were able to go to the office of the Hokage in record time. When they entered the office, they saw two other people reporting with the Hokage. Kurenai noted the fairly beautiful woman standing near the desk of the Hokage. "Oh, I see my eternal rival! His flame still burning bright as ever to come so fast," yelled out a green spandex wearing ninja.

"The Hokage requests us here, Guy," said Kakashi nonchalantly, ignoring the way Guy pulled him to his side in a manly display of friendship.

"Ah that hip reaction," said the other male dramatically. Kurenai had always wondered how Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi had developed this relationship with each other. It was by far the weirdest bromance she had encountered, but considering the personalities of Guy and Kakashi, it wasn't strange as she would have imagined.

The rich voice of the Hokage stopped all the good festivities among the two male jounin, "I have called you four because I have received an emergency signal from Iwagakure along with the official seal of our own Land of Fire daimyō. Both the daimyō of the Land of Fire and Land of Earth has called forth a truce for their ninja village until the situation has been dealt with."

He gave them manila folders with the mission details. It told the aging man the experience these adult ninjas have when it only took them seconds to memorize the content of the folders fully. This was not something he wanted to do for his ninjas; however, he hated power struggles between the lords of the lands even more. "I hope you four can finish this discreetly and efficaciously," commanded the ninja leader.

They handed back their mission details before leaving for the site promptly.

Hiruzen grabbed one of the folder swiftly with strength gained over the years and looked over the details again. He sighed when he looked at the picture of the warlord, and his brows knotted further, showing more wrinkles on the old man, as he read down. This particular warlord rose to power near the border of Kusagakure, wedged right between the Lands of Earth and Fire. He had ten thousands men ready to command with technology unseen in this land before.

It was this technology Hiruzen was more worried about. Evidently, the technology mimicked the high class jutsu without any of the drawback when ninjas used their techniques. The reports were blank on how the technology looks like or the fine information regarding on how it works. Was this some kind of experiment? He hoped to whatever god there was out there that the technology was from the warlord and not some other person.

The primary mission was to assassinate the warlord, and the secondary mission was to acquired those weapons. This was the main reason he had called Yuugao Uzuki. Being a sensor-type, she would identified the weapons if possible. She also had medical techniques although Kurenai had basic training in that as well. The genjutsu mistress would help spot any illusions in the team's way and could provide support. With Guy and Kakashi being some of the top jounin in Konohagakure's military force, they completed the balance needed for this mission despite the lack of information.

He only kept one copy of the details on his special compartment and burned the rest, so no prying eyes would find out this mission. He needed a smoke, feeling another war was brewing in the horizon. Another world war would be too hard on him. As he stared out of his window, the view of the village was breathtaking, and it made him wished even more how he wanted to see this sight in the long future.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, are you okay," asked Hinata, who followed Naruto. For Hinata, it was strange seeing Naruto this quiet and unresponsive. She could have gone home after everyone else had went their way, but then, she saw Naruto exhibited depressive behavior she had never seen. Worrying about Naruto was more important than going to her safe ancestral home. He still hadn't responded to her voice. She lightly bit her lip, thinking of doing something dramatic.

She inched closer. She was doing to do it. Her heart was beating too fast.

She wanted to back down from what she was going to do; however, this was the only thing she could think heart pounded against her chest as if someone put an explosive tag inside her; she could feel the raging throbbing of her heart in her personal heat flared. Her fingers were shaking at the action she was about to do. A few times her fingers back off, but this time she mustered all her courage.

She tapped Naruto's shoulder.

She wanted to black out, the dread spreading to every inch of her body. But her effort would go to waste; however more importantly, Naruto would still be the same. She needed to firmly stand like what her father said an heiress must do.

She did well when Naruto turned around to face her as they stopped by a secluded part of the park. "Oh, Hinata-chan, did you tap me?" asked Naruto. The usual excitement lost in his voice. In the back of her mind, it was a good thing her father only thought she was with her team. If he knew she was not, he would have wanted her home already, working on her to get most of the clan jutsu into her.

One day, just for one day she would break her promise to her mother. She hoped her mother would understand because Naruto was important to her. Just one day, Hinata thought then she would become the heiress again for her clan. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked as she sat down on a man-made wooden log.

In the back of his mind, Naruto was panicking. He did not know what to do in this kind of situation. He was still thinking about his teacher being a student of his father. Was everyone he was going to meet because of his father? He would not want Hinata to be burdened with anything. "Yeah, I am. Why you ask, Hinata-chan?"

She tilted her head and said, "Naruto-kun, you don't have to lie to me." Somehow, she had a feeling Naruto was holding something back to her. All she could do was wait for him to say what he wanted to get out. It was far better for him to let his feelings naturally instead of forcing him.

She would wait because he needed a friend.

He was stunned as he was drawn to the open space Hinata was giving him. Should he tell Hinata about who was his father? Maybe, she could give him some advice since she has that daunting figure of a father. "What is your relationship with your dad like, Hinata-chan?"

She knew this was not bothering Naruto, but it was most likely part of the problem Naruto wanted to solve. "My father is a gentle person to me," fondly said Hinata. A small start of a smile appeared in her of the memories she had with her father. The way he lifted her in the air when she was younger, his firm hands assuring her everything was going to be better, and his smile when she did something right.

Her father is her father. And she will never want to trader her father.

She saw in Naruto's face that he was in disbelief. Most people thought her father was too imposing and self-conceited especially when he towered most people with his presence only. "My father loves me. It is just he is also the leader of the Hyuuga clan. Like Hokage-sama, he has to take care of the clan. He must appear harsh to control both sides of the clan."

"So you love your dad?" asked Naruto, still not sure at what to think about that imposing figure to be gentle.

"Yes, I love my father. He was the one who helped me out when my mother and younger sister died at childbirth," said Hinata, easily spilling out one of the secrets Hyuuga concealed. She trusted Naruto more than anyone in the world. The world, outside her clan and the high officers in the village, knew her mother died because of an illness.

She still felt the warm embrace her father gave her when she would go to mother's room days after her family's demise.

"I'm sorry," he said because he must have brought out rough memories in the girl.

"It's been a long time since that happened, Naruto-kun. I learned to accept that event." Her voice broke a bit, but she continued to say, "and I still have mother's garden." The two young adults let in the sound of the wind playing with the trees feel their bodies. Naruto looked at Hinata again, and he felt a stirring in his body. The same feeling his clone felt when Naruto got the clone's memories. She was a lot stronger than she looked despite remembering the insane kick she gave him.

He felt calmer as his thoughts were slowing down and less chaotic than before. Maybe, talking to Hinata would help him with his issues. "I recently found about who was my father," said Naruto. He waited a few seconds only to see Hinata quietly waiting for him. "Like your father, he had a duty which he used me to fulfill it, and I am hating him for it. Except, I understand why he did it, yet here I am loathing him," muttered Naruto with his hands clutching his knees hard, "why me? Why do I have to bare his burden, his failure?"

She saw the watery coating of his eyes. He was holding back his tears. Only his anger stopped those drops of sorrow from coming out. No wonder, Naruto was acting this way. Anger and sorrow together was never helpfule. She moved closer before stopping slightly. She was hesitant about another thing she never initiated before. Her left arm clumsily touched Naruto's shoulder. However, she did not stop there as her other arm moved, wrapping slenderly on his side. It was an awkward first hug for both of them.

She let his head rest on the tip of her shoulder. He did not cry or sob even if he wanted to, he stayed there, welcoming the serenity Hinata was providing. "Naruto-kun, you asked if I love my father, and I said yes." Her fingers delicately moved back some of his hair from his ear. "I did not tell you I dislike the harsh leader of my clan," whispered Hinata.

Both of them slowly released each other, yet their bodies still remained close. "I knew being a clan leader was part of him, and there was no way I can stop him from being a leader. I used to hate my father because he showed his leader persona on me than being a father," said Hinata, her voice breaking a little more, "it used to hurt me that my father might have hated me because I was so weak."

She continued bravely, "until I figure out he was trying to make me a worthy heiress in his own way." She used her sleeves of her coat to dry the tears in her eyes. "After that, I learned to separate my feelings for his different sides of him being the father and the clan leader," muttered Hinata as her throat tightened throughout the ordeal of confessing her hatred.

"How long did it take you to finally separate those sides?" asked Naruto, gently taking his once clutching harmful hands onto the girl's forearms. He would have never thought Hinata, such a kind and caring person, would actually hate someone especially her father. He would have never believed it even when she said it because she had protective hands and warmness around her.

The thoughts and emotions he felt when he heard his father's title vanished, yet those intense feelings would not sleep and would dwell inside his being for a long time.

The redness in her eyes still hadn't left before she said, "it took me a long time."

His heart was not burning anymore as he listen to Hinata's tranquil voice. He felt much better because of one patient girl, who he once thought of as weird. "Thank you, Hianta-chan." Those words easily came out of Naruto's mouth, and he liked the feel of those words because he had never truly thought he would say it to a person his age.

"I guess I'll take you home because it is the least I could do for cheering me up," said Naruto as he stood up and gestured Hinata to do the same.

"You will not have to do such a thing, young Uzumaki," said the bodyguard of the heiress. Naruto turned so quick he felt his neck sorely ached. Were all Hyuuga men this silent? "However, Hiashi-sama will like to see you Uzumaki-san, so I will escort both of you to the estate," said the unmovable guard.

Then, Naruto realized he was in the most surreal situation ever in his small life. He had never had a guard watching his back while walking with a girl back to her home. He honestly felt like he was a walking sign for ninjas because he could feel the sting from those laser eyes the guard was giving him. Finally arriving at the gates, Naruto gave a whistle at how huge the place was. Sure, he, or rather his clone, had seen it before, but it was an entirely different setting now.

When they went pass the gates, Naruto noted the elaborate pond construction with stone sculptures on the edges, pouring more water into the pond. In Naruto's eyes, there were two similar looking men, except one of them was the age of Jiji, feeding the carps while Kō went to them. "Hiashi-sama, I have arrived with Hinata-sama and Uzumaki-san," said Kō, kneeling towards the nearest man. He did not even acknowledge the elderly man behind his master.

"Good work, Kō-san. You may take your leave," said Hiashi. Kō bowed before Hiashi again, then to Hinata and Naruto before leaving. "Welcome Uzumaki-san, one of our clan members will lead you to my quarters." The authority laced in words of the clan head even kept Naruto in line.

Another eerily silent member of the clan came to guide Naruto through the estate while Hinata had to go to her dojo. Naruto looked around the place, marveled at the feat and skill the builders put inside of the estate. High white wooden pillars supported the frame of the estate, and many doorways arranged perplexing that it kept intruders from wandering in too deeply or keeping them confided into the building. Despite the cordial from the sun descending on the land, the place was emitting winter though the walls.

Naruto nodded to the silent guide when he entered the room that housed the most influential member of the Hyuuga clan. He sat with his knees on the floor and his back perfectly perpendicular to the ground. Despite feeling awkward, Naruto just stare at the elaborate hanging scrolls in front of him. The grand space around the room almost choked Naruto as he breathe in the dense air.

He jumped in his mind when he heard, "Good day, Uzumaki-san. Do you know the reason why I have called you here?" Even though it was just the two of them in the room, Hiashi walked without making any sounds; a feat Naruto deemed amazing considering the clan head had three expensive bells tied to his robes. Hiashi did not sit where the grand platform of a noble clan leader instead he sat several meters away from Naruto in a rigid formal style.

Naruto had no really good understanding of manners, so he bowed once and said no in the politest tone he could muster, which was easy since it was Hinata's father. His imagination was getting the better of him because he thought he heard that mountain figure laugh. "You are truly an unpredictable person, Uzumaki-san," said the clan head. "From the way some of my clan members have said about you, I visualize you to be more vainglorious. Yet, here you are bowing and showing respect. However you can relax, I have invited into my home, and I will not do harm to you."

When Naruto heard those words, he popped down in his normal position and said, "thank you, Hyuuga-san." He was still respectful despite the clan head telling him to relax. He was cautious with his words since he was still talking to a person he did not really know.

"You may call me, Hiashi. There is no need for such civilized formality when I am not here as the clan head," said Hiashi, "rather I am here as the father of Hinata." This statement led Naruto to many different and horrifying conclusions. "As I stated earlier I am not here to harm you, I am here to ask a favor for you."

Naruto suddenly put up his guard. It was just instinct for him when people asked him for favors except for Iruka, Ayame, Tenchi and Jiji. Nevertheless the person did not do anything to him, Naruto listened to what Hiashi had to say. "I am listening, Hiashi-san," said Naruto carefully.

"I need you to protect my daughter for me," simply stated Hiashi.

Out of all the favors in the world, this was not the one Naruto had expected from this uncompromising man. "Why? Is she in danger?" Naruto got up from his position albeit a little rough when it was too sudden.

Just from the boy's reactions, Hiashi could trust the boy for this lifetime mission. "Hinata is my daughter. She will inherit all of the clan's knowledge come her sixteen birthday," spoke Hiashi, trying to get the bile from coming out. If he had his way, his daughter would be having a normal life instead of a sacrifice to the filth in his clan. "She and her children will the only Hyuuga allowed to get all the skills the Hyuuga has however little they seem." Hiashi saw the questions and confusion in Naruto's eyes. "Despite the paternal leadership of this clan, the _Byakugan _is only passed through the maternal side." Hiashi had hired scientists to find out the reason why Hyuuga males could not conceive children with their bloodline limit outside the clan while the females could. The research the scientists gave him was the same conclusion Hiashi said to the young Uzumaki.

"There are surely other females around," said Naruto, knowing at least that certain aspect of baby making. He remembered asking Iruka extra lecture about that after the class had a lesson. He was blushing the same way as Iruka was by the end of it all. Never again will Naruto be asking Iruka about the female body.

"Yes, there are many other females. However, we had a tradition that is now abolished of sealing inferior birth children with a mark. Unlike how the Aburame introduced new traits to their insects to make them stronger, the mark made some parts of the brain dormant in those children which they passed onto their children, thus restricting their use of the _Byakugan _despite having many talented members. Until recently, this clan used the mark almost indiscriminately, and now we are in decline because of it," explained Hiashi.

Naruto felt the domineering presence as Hiashi explained what the 'mark' was since seeing Hinata's father the first time. Also Naruto understood the hidden meaning behind his words. "That would mean Hinata's children will only have the full potential?"

"This is the reason why I need you to protect my daughter for me. I can protect her from the schemers in this clan; however, I don't have enough influence outside to guarantee her safety. It must make me a weak man for asking you for this burden," said Hiashi. He had bowed to Naruto several times with his hands on top one another, begging the boy for his help. When people asked what type of man Hiashi was, people would think of an emperor, dignified and prideful, and not a man prostrating to help his only daughter.

No one would have imagined an imposing, grown man begging to a boy, who never experience the boarders of the world.

"No way, Hiashi-san. I will help out Hinata-chan whatever she needs to. But why don't you ask Jiji, I mean Hokage-sama or any of the other clans like Shino's or Kiba's clan," said Naruto. It even made sense to him about asking Jiji about the situation.

"The Hokage knows about this delicate manner; however, he has a limited influence in dealing with clan politics," said Hiashi, "and other clans can do little with another clan's affairs as well." His eyes were wearing thin, and the skin under his eyes were seeing signs of aging. At first, Naruto thought of the person as an unmovable mountain, but he saw the weariness in the posture of the man. It seemed even mountains could be tore down by constant storms, erosion, and pressure.

"Don't worry, Hiashi-san. On my honor as a ninja, I'll protect Hinata-chan from people who want to use her," said Naruto.

Hiashi rose from his spot, towering the boy in stature. Despite Hiashi being a man, Naruto was astonished again when Hiashi walked with grace and finesse, yet Hiashi vibrated with power despite the weariness in his body. He walked, stopping near a hanging scroll, and he pulled away to reveal written seal on the wall. Doing one handed seals faster than Naruto could see, Hiashi's hand touched the seal, and a small rolled scroll appeared. Then, Hiashi tossed the scroll to Naruto and said, "eh. What's this?"

"It is a gift. It is a jutsu from one of my late wife's friends. I think you will find the jutsu suitable to your taste. I must insist you take it. I do not feel comfortable with just asking you to protect my daughter without giving you something in return," said Hiashi.

Understanding this was Hiashi's way of thank you, Naruto nodded. Naruto had one final question, "I don't tell Hinata-chan, right?" He hoped he can tell her; nevertheless, he needed to honor his word to her father.

Hiashi paused for a few moments and said, "I don't want her to find out about this because I have my reasons. Even through I want you to protect her, I hope you can be there for her. She is still my little princess." Hiashi snapped his finger, and Kō opened the door, kneeling for orders.

"Okay, Hiashi-san," said Naruto, letting Kō escort him out of the estate. Naruto never asked the most important question which was why did Hiashi pick him.

* * *

The team the Hokage assembled for the assassination was half way to their destination. They settled in their current location, securing the area around them before setting camp. Their plan was to rest and move out hours before daybreak, and they would arrive in the palace of the warlord at night. Then, they would meet the representative team from Iwagakure and act out the rest of the plan.

"Thank you very much, Kurenai-san on gathering our stuff," said the booming voice of Guy. The adult ninjas had separated to do their individual tasks: Kakashi had scouted around the place and trapped it, Kurenai gathered wood and water, Yuugao planned out routes for them to escape, and Guy built their campsite.

"We have to do our part, Guy-san," responded Kurenai. While Guy and Kurenai were civil to each other because they have been classmates, she was not as close to him as others. Frankly, she felt Guy could detect all her secrets if she became too close to him. She liked having her secrets to herself and no one else.

"Ah, why must you response like my eternal rival. Have you been spending time with him?" said Guy, inspecting her tiniest movements. She was glad her hair covered the small twitch her lips did with Guy's remarks. Was she being influenced by Kakashi now? Was it that noticeable they had spent time together?

"Yes, I have been spending time with Kakashi, considering he wanted my team to help him out," said Kurenai, easily evading Guy's underlining question. She needed to lie, and the easiest lies to get into were the ones based on the truth. She just needed to omit that one time she was with Kakashi. "Actually before Hokage-sama summoned us, we were eating at Naruto's favorite eatery."

"Young Uzumaki Naruto is quite infamous. I heard the chatter of this year's jounin teachers about your unusual verbal fight with Kakashi." He eyed her. Was there a sign on her person that says she slept with Kakashi hanging unknown to her? She did not like the feeling of being under the microscope especially the microscope of Might Guy. The man was too insightful for her sanity.

"Of course, I had to disagree with him when he decided to take my genin candidate." She crossed her arms, her cloth sleeves draping around her arms. "I know I am a rookie jounin, but I will not be undermined by some chivalric man, who thinks I cannot not handle Naruto." Her back straightened, and her aura felt more magisterial in Might Guy's martial senses.

"Oh, no no. He doesn't see you that way. He likes your strength and determination. However, he wanted Naruto because Naruto, in some ways, is his redemption," said Guy in a sage-like tone. He had walked around the camp, checking their equipments again for tomorrow. Then, he started kicking and punching the air, releasing some of the tension in his bones.

Her eyes were hawks, trying to find out any other meaning behind Guy's movements. She was trying to interpret his words into something she could understand. "What do you mean Naruto is his redemption? Why use a child for his redemption? How do you know this?"

"I do not call anybody my eternal rival for no reason, Kurenai-san. Of course, I disapprove some of his methods; however, young Uzumaki Naruto will, undoubtedly, become an extraordinary existence in the world," he faintly said, so uncharacteristic of the vivacious man she thought she knew. "There is more than meets the eye with Kakashi, Kurenai-san. I do hope your youthful flame light some way for him to have a happy life," the man said, reverting back to the grinning persona she adored despite not wanting to get too close to Guy. He finished with his favorite nice guy pose and shouted the wonders of youth!

Before she could get anything more out of the man, Yuugao jumped in and reported, "there are twenty-five men coming our direction; however, ten men were going where Kakashi is. Judging by the rate the rest are walking, they will be here in ten minutes. They seemed to be the warlord's men; however, the best plan for now is not to engage the enemy," concluded the other woman in the team as she sensed the chakra signals of the men. She had a difficult time distinguishing one spot of chakra because it flickered between existence and emptiness.

She wondered if that was the weapon she needed to secure. It was only an hypothesis on her part through.

Guy pointed up while the female ninjas nodded, and they climbed on the trees above their campsite. "Kurenai-san, can you cover the area of our campsite?" said Guy, taking the command of the team since Kakashi was not present. She confirmed by nodding, already placing an illusion on the area.

It was a long eight minutes for the group, waiting for the military men to be in the position. The ninjas saw the helmets of the men shining menacingly, and these men moved with precision unseen from the usual militia men warlords usually hired. The soldiers wore red armor as if the gear was soaked in blood of hundreds of men. Furthermore to create fear upon their arrival, they wore smiling masks depicting demonic beings of mythology. Unfortunately for them, the ninjas saw more frightening monstrosities than fake demons.

One of the men had black cloak giving him more a sensational malice compared to the others like the hand of death touched the person. "Wow, Boss, don't ya think something is off with this place?" said a man near the cloaked soldier, confirming the suspicion the ninjas had.

The leader of the men signaled some of men to go ahead by extending his index and middle fingers and pointing it to the spot where the campsite was located at. To the eyes of the men, they only saw a never-ending forest and only hearing the endless silence of trees in the area. "There nothing's here," yelled out one man, unknown that three convergent pairs of eyes were staring down on him.

Doing another hand gesture from the leader, the men moved out. The owners of those eyes followed each meticulous movement from the men, and each step they took away was another safe sign with the ninjas.

Guy, Kurenai, and Yuugao thought they were in the clear when the leader solider unleashed his sword and slashed the space where Kurenai's illusion was. The slash torn her genjutsu, revealing the temporary campsite. "Dammit! Fucking illusion. Attack, attack, attack!" said the same person nearby the cloaked soldier. There was no turning back for the people who wanted to avoid bloodshed.

Might Guy displayed his prowess and lived up to his expertise of a top tier taijutsu master by becoming a meteorite. Using the branch of the tree as platform, Guy launched himself in the middle of the group and stomp the ground. The impact was so strong that it bended the ground with aftereffects of shock waves spreading to the soldiers.

The some of the soldiers roared and brandished their normal weapons, charging at the seemingly unarmed ninja. They would quickly learn that it was not enough to simply yell and have a weapon to stop the green beast. They were too slow for the gale personified ninja as he barraged the ninjas with kicks of steel and punches of iron.

Even the hand-to-hand combatant who had done boxing was having difficulty with the grinning man. It was not even a fair fight between the two since the boxer only faced with other lowlife humans and never a war veteran ninja. The boxer only had one shot in his disposal. When the combatant tried a left hook, Guy simply kicked the boxer on his knees from the side, breaking the fragile ligament and popping the bones outward. Falling to the ground on his knees, the boxer did not see the left hook of Guy which easily knocked out his teeth and his conscious mind.

The weaker soldiers cowered, their bones shaking from the pressure coming from Guy. They dropped their useless weapons and fled from the scene. Guy let those men go, knowing another jounin can handle them, and he extended his arm towards the leader and gestured with his fingers to come at the green beast.

The fleeing soldiers stopped, thinking it was safe for them since the only ninja they saw was not chasing them. "Darn, should have listen to my wife when she said she had a horrible feeling about this request. Never thought ninjas would come, shit," cursed one of the soldiers. That warlord had requested for able men to gather up, and he would pay a great amount of money after each successful campaign for expansion of land. He only took this because his wife, eldest son, daughter, and baby son needed money. He was just a farmer!

"Are you okay mister?" asked a voice behind him. He turned to see a small girl, younger than his own daughter, behind the tree he was in. He did not notice her odd green complexion, or the way her body merged with the tree if he looked further. He just saw a girl near a bloody dangerous area if she stayed any further.

He was more focused on getting this young child away from the battle. "What are you doing here? Run away, it is not safe around here. There is a fight," said the farmer, shooing the girl to find a haven from the beast.

"Don't worry, mister, just go to sleep and you will be unharmed. I am the spirit of this forest," said the wooden girl calmly as she touched his forehead. Like a spell, his eyes rolled back, and he dreamed of going back to his simple lifestyle of a farmer.

Similarly, the farmer's comrades had versions of the wooden spirit when they stopped. Most of versions were scandalously women with only leaves covering their modest parts, and the farmer's comrades lost themselves in lust. However unlike the gently voice of the girl, the women aggressively met with lust of the men, kissing the soldiers. The eyes of the men were fogged with arousal unbeknownst these women were nothing like heaven. The men tried pushing off the women when their oxygen was being drained by the women, yet they could barely muster any strength. They soon found out when they were passing death's door that the wooden nymphos were demons in disguise.

In the read world, Kurenai was at the center of the group of coward men with one of her favorite illusions against men. _Demonic Illusion: Forest Spirit Spell _has two variants of judgment towards those trapped in the illusion. The first was the non-lethal delusion of a forest guardian telling any lost passengers to rest peacefully. The second was the paralyzing fantasy of man's last desires fully visualized, but the fantasies were vicious plants draining the last oxygen from man to produce death. At least, the men had the sweet taste of nectar of women in their final moments. Most men would find that a craved death as she slid their throats. She strolled away from the no longer twitching men, and she checked the pulse of the farmer.

Kurenai turned around from her spot because she heard the bushes moved with shouts and curses. "What the fuck did you do to them, bitch," said the most outspoken member of the soldiers, appearing before Kurenai. He had escaped the wrath of the wild green beast, and he went after the cowardly soldiers because the Boss would kill him without excuse. In his hands were two daggers, he knew how to use his weapons because he had been a thief most of his life. His daggers were his longest partners when he finally got out that hell hole of the Land of Water. He was unbeatable with them on him.

Unknown to him, the last of the ninjas descended to his spot like a fallen angel, bringing doom to whoever she targeted. She wielded her blade with such grace, it made no sound when the weapon cut through the muscles lined on the throat. Even pulling out her blade, the muteness of a kill was breathtakingly awing.

Seeing there was one prisoner they could interrogate, both women rushed back to Guy with their weapons on hand. Although, they were too late as Kakashi with his kunai stabbing the miniscule exposed space where the joints of the leader's dominant arm met.

Kakashi held the man with such strength the leader could not do anything yet not to fatally cripple him. "Kakashi, why must you be so anticlimactic when I was to duel the man in a great display of youthful bout!" yelled Guy, crying at his lost chance of showing his flame of youth.

"It was better to capture this leader alive than having no workable mouth when you are finished," said Kakashi, unaffected by his rival's crying. This person was vital information to Kakshi. A little menticide would yield more details and data on the forces of the warlord and the security of the palace than what the mission gave them.

"That is what you think," said the first and final words of the leader. The person behind the armor started trembling with erratic movements. Quickly realizing what happened, Kakashi freed his kunai and torn the mask away from the leader. Black plagues covered the face of the leader, eating the skin off, and before long, the flesh of the leader crumbled, forming the tiniest dust particles any of the ninjas seen.

"I have never seen any kind of poison do this before?" The fastest poison Yuugao saw would kill a human in thirty minutes. To kill and decomposed a human under a minute, the poison was too lethal. Using gloves and a scoop, she put the leftovers of the leader in a plastic bag, so she could sent it to the researchers back in the village. That poison was too powerful, and not having a way to fight it would be devastating to their forces. She only hoped it was only a method of suicide instead of a fully developed weapon to be used against others.

Another flicker of chakra discharged from somewhere. She searched around the area to see the sword the leader used was giving off chakra. In hindsight, she should have been more cautious towards something she did not understand. She had to hold the sword without any sort of protection. She screamed when she flew though the air like a rag doll. The last image she saw was her team running towards her before everything went black.

Her last thoughts were about the sword. She did not know like how the poison deteriorated the body of the soldier, the sword crumbled out of existence.

* * *

Unlike the battle their teachers finished, the students were having a particular interesting time especially Sakura as she walked down the busiest section of the village because it was the center of entertainment. There was so much life with moviegoers rallying to watch the cinema with popcorn popping and fuzzing soda at the concession stand, employees of restaurants outside inviting people to indulge themselves in fine cuisine by handing out free samplers, artisans exhibiting intricate moves to people abuzz with fervor for their performances in the theaters, cloth weavers sewing a beautiful storm of clothes and bags for people to wear when they buy at their shops, gamers preparing their battle gear for the coming famed tournaments in the game centers and arcades later tonight, and many more people actively moving to get finest items and seats available.

There was so many interesting topics to talk about as she journeyed back to the place she resided. Yet, her companion was the quietest and most inexpressive person she had ever met. At least, she could talk to Nara Shikamaru even if it was too troublesome to reply back. "So, Shino-san, do you like going here?" asked Sakura. The need to talk in her being was far greater than maintaining that dainty tranquility between them.

It took several long moments until Shino responded, "yes, when I find several unique showings of other insects in foreign countries." He even said his response in a slow, polite manner where there was a small break of silence. It made Sakura want to get up in Shino's face and tell him he could response to her like a normal person. "Do you find it pleasing here?" Well, at least, he could keep the conversion going.

She took a moment from responding to him and closed her eyes, taking time to recall her memories.

She was a child again with her frail fingers grasping the linen threads of her father's robes. It was the first time her father had taken her out here in this section. For as long as she could remember, her father had always been sick, always going in and out of the hospital. When she had asked her mother what happened, her mother would replied, "it happened when you were younger, love."

So when her father asked her if she wanted to shop and watch a show, her immediate and childish answer was yes. Despite her exhilaration to have an outing with her father, she had sneaked behind her father's tall frame at the ongoing people. His laughter still lingered in her ears because it was the first time she heard such a rich meaningful action from her father. She squealed, closing her eyes when her father wrapped his fingers around her and lifted her up to his head.

When her father told her to open her eyes, she saw the vibrant scenery of laughter, happiness, and wonder though cherry blossom hair. It was a sight she would never forget in her life because it was the only time she got to be with her father before he perished.

As she opened her eyes again, she was back to reality where Shino was handing her a handkerchief. "There are tears running down your face," said Shino. There was no questions asked or taunts sprouted from the still enigma against the backdrop of the prosperous liveliness.

She took the piece of cloth, feeling the expensive lines of fabric, and she wiped away her the one stream of water down her cheek. "Thank you Shino-san. To answer your question, I love this place," said Sakura.

They walked together in relative silence until they parted where Sakura lived with her mother and stepfather.

* * *

After bidding farewell to Kō, Naruto wandered aimlessly as Iruka was still teaching, and he did not need to be at Baba's place until later. Then, a marvelous thought entered in his mind since Iruka was not around! He searched though his pouch to find the notes he took although the papers were getting torn and crinkled. He decided to finish learning one technique from the mangled papers. Since he cannot do the Second's jutsu yet and he did not want to touch the Fourth's technique right now, he would do Jiji's jutsu.

Looking over them again, Naruto thought he understood the jutsu when he wrote down the details, but it was more complicated then he imagined. He first thought he would manipulate the environment and make it into a projectile. But seeing his notes again, the jutsu distorted the environment and can change the element into another. For example, using the jutsu he can change the properties of a branch turning it into ice and launching it towards the opponent. It was far more wicked than Naruto thought. _'No wonder Jiji said the techniques were dangerous.'_

It had the same drawback as the _Shadow Clone _because it took a massive amount of chakra to change the properties of the environment. But Naruto grinned because he had loads of chakra to spare. Now, he headed back to the secluded training area Kakashi-sensei gave them. The location was perfect to see if he could do Jiji's _Creation __Cutter_technique.

Once arriving at the area, he snapped off grass from the ground while placing it on a random stone. His first step in the process of learning Jiji's jutsu was turning grass into liquid. However, Naruto kept doing the sequence of the sixty seals, engraving the pattern until his body remembered it without looking at his notes every two seconds. The entire practice took him more than time than he thought he needed because he kept messing up the monkey seal with the hare.

It was finally time to crack another Hokage sealed jutsu!

Most of the ninjas walking in the location ran away when they saw the boy during this time as they believed him to be a reincarnation of an Asura minus the three heads. He emitted an overwhelming presence as he tried to change the grass, at least a part of one grass, into a puddle of liquid.

Then suddenly, Naruto breathed smoothly, inhaling in a steady motion. He was using too much chakra. He knew it because the excess chakra had flatten the plant life around him. He slowed his thinking, just focusing on the controlling his chakra. He muted the sounds coming from the small waves from lake crushing into the land and rushing winds that made the trees swoon, and he disconnected from feeling the earth growing underneath him and rays of the sun caressing his skin.

He needed to find the right balance as he molded chakra after each passing seal. He was not giving up on turning this dumb grass changing to water technique. He tried again, decreasing the input of chakra after each failure.

Yet, there was no change in appearance with the grass. There was nothing at all not even a drop of water appeared on the grass. What was he doing wrong? Maybe, thinking in a different position would give him some more insight. So, Naruto stood up and tapped his feet repeatedly on the ground. As he tapped against the hard surface of the ground, something clicked in his mind.

Was it something that simple?

Previously, he was not thinking about the attributes of water when he was doing the seals. Maybe, he needed to envision his chakra to be solid like the grass and willing his chakra to become freer like water that slipping between the fingers. He didn't sat back down, opting to stand while he performed his last trial before heading to Baba's place. He stared down from his place like a predator ready to complete his hunt.

Each time Naruto completed a seal he would think of that solid image becoming looser and looser. When he finished the last seal, he looked down. The tips of his lips curved up and the tip of his tongue touched the roof of his mouth as he prepared to shout. "Oh yeah! I did it!" To further emphasize his delight, he fist pumped the air and did several back flips.

On the surface of the stone, there was a green puddle. The oozy surface of the grass spreading throughout the stone, tainting the stone with its natural pigmentation.

He flipping did it! He was finally done with the first step of Jiji's jutsu.

He tried it two more times to definitely confirm what he did truly worked. After he was finished, the green liquid only spread wider, soaking the stone with color and making more part of the grassland. Knowing that was the way to change the properties, Naruto memorized the feeling of making his chakra looser for making things into liquid.

It would take more steps to finish mastering Jiji's jutsu, but it would be so worth it!

Hearing the distinct clamor of the school's bell, it was finally time for him to go again to his community service. He got to Baba's workplace fairly quickly by hopping on top of the roofs. He knocked on the door instead of bursting into the place because the sudden adjustment in temperature could hamper quality weapons into trash. And rather than suffering any more sore spots on his body for that mistake, he would safely knock.

Baba opened the door and said, "get in here already, ya boy. I have lots of weapons for you to sharpen." He walked in with the intense heat engulfing his entire body. He was sweating from the stroking touch of the blaze, and those drops of perspiration made his clothes stick to places it shouldn't stick with.. Going to his spot of the smithery, his eyes did a once over at the insane amount of weapons he had to do, and his eyelids were twitching up and down repeatedly and rapidly. There was easily a thousand or more weapons there in his spot.

It would at least ten of him to actually accomplish sharpening everything for today.

Then a thought came to him like a bullet, he smacked his head as he remembered his favorite jutsu. "_Shadow Clone,"_commanded Naruto, "guys, we're going to do this right!" He divided his clones to take their amount of weapons in different parts of the humble smithy before they overcrowd their spot. It would only take them hours to finish than the days he would take to do everything by himself.

Baba whistled as she heard the colliding friction between steel and steel vibrating though the walls of her delicate home. "I must admit doing ten _Shadow Clones _takes considerable amount of chakra. Some ninjas I know who could do this technique could only make about five clones without devitalizing themselves." She stood up with the sword she polished to perfection, touching the still radiating steel. As she ran her furrowed fingers, she tried to banish the thought of who would own her creation. The decision of what her creation either becomes a mass genocidal destroyer or a steady precious protector would be up to the owner of this blade.

She put down the blade, securing where no one but her can touch it for now.

Then, she picked up two items wrapped in cloth. "Boy, the original one," she stated as eyes locked onto her own, "come outside with me." Sensing it was one of Baba's whims at work; he followed her without any questions or whiny comments unless he wanted to find himself roasting over an open fire. Instead of going to the leveled terrain in front of their workplace, Baba made him travel deeper into the forest, passing the seemingly identical ancient trees with creatures dwelling in the shadows.

"Baba, what are we doing?" asked Naruto, stopping at a diminutive meadow tucked within the depths of the forest. Baba threw straight something at him, and he caught it by grabbing the edge. He narrowed his eyes at the sleek coating that glared against the light, and there was no bladed edges on the item. It was a pole he was holding albeit it was more heavier than he thought. "What's this for?"

"When you work in my place, you are not a ninja. You are a blacksmith. As such, you will need to be proficient in all kinds of weaponry," said Baba with her own steel pole already in place, one of its end deeply embedded into the land. Her position was relaxed, not intending on striking Naruto.

His eyebrows and forehead twisted upwards and tilted his head. "Eh? I don't get it," honestly said Naruto, weighting down the pole by lifting it up and down. He only needed to know how to use a shuriken and kunai because he would be a ninjjutsu specialist. It was one of his previous goals, so learning about weapons wasn't his top priority at this moment.

In an exaggerated display of annoyance, she tapped her fingers separately against the metal making a clinking noise around the area. She said, "of course. What would I expect from a youngster like you, who didn't grow up those warring periods. Although, I prefer children to be children." She strolled casually towards him, holding the pole like a feather.

Even though she was not a ninja, her presence was remarkable enough to make Naruto unmovable, and she thrust her steel stick forward where Naruto's heart would have been. He dodged it, reacting at the last possible second. "What da heck!" shouted Naruto, jumping far away from the crazy old lady. Was this some kind of punishment for doing the _Shadow Clone_?

Her grin was concealed from Naruto's sight, and she muttered, "children are so full of life." She coiled her pole and held it firmly in her two hands. She simply stated, "my thrusting speed is really horrid. This is why I admire children. They don't fear old age and are usually so rash into battle." She dodged his poor attempt at attacking her by moved to the side because his swing was not properly control. He held the pole on only one end like the pole was a sword.

She pulled her weapon before thrusting it into his stomach, then smashing his chin on one end and tripping his feet with the other. His head could even get up since the edge of the pole was at his neck. "No way, how?" Those were his last words before he was beaten into his spot.

"That, boy, is called battle perceptive. It is usually acquired when one become skilled with fighting. Training with weapons would help you give the sensation of fighting," explained the fighter woman. She released her aim at his neck.

Naruto gripped his hold on the pole, looking at the steel rod. "Baba, I'm going to get serious!" declared Naruto, rising up from his fallen spot. He spotted how she handled the weapon, and he copied the position of her hands. When she moved her body to a stance, he mirrored the same motions.

"Good, we have time to get in some weaponry lessons in," said Baba as her eyes caught the shine of the light coming through the forest. He shivered seeing the marvelous glee in her eyes and smiled. She stepped forward with her pole, and he did the same. Their poles touched on the edge before Baba demonstrated her prowess against her young discipline. They kept going thought motions until Naruto had to leave hours later.

When he had gotten home later, his body was sore again, yet his mind was not on his tiredness. His most important thought was he was finally a genin the closer he got to his house. He had dreamed of being a genin after promising himself never to go back and steal from rotting corpses. This was just his beginning, and he vowed he would become greater than anyone.

However, his important hope lied beyond the door. When he opened it, his smiled grew wider and bolder, and his heart accelerated faster. He saw Iruka standing there, and Naruto only yelled out, "Iruka! I am a genin!"

* * *

**Once again, thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. They totally put a smile on my face when I see them. **

**Again, this chapter is unbeta'd, so there is going to be some mistakes. Please point it out since I still improving my writing. **


	6. Curse of the Malignant Warlord

The farmer blinked while groaning and struggling against the bonds he was with. He started freaking out when he saw the ninja headband on the woman; it was the same headband that attacked his group. "Please, don't kill me. I'm just a farmer. I...I...I...don't want to die!" begged the man, wanting to go back to his sweet dream of playing with his family instead of this hellish reality. Dark crimson icicles locked with his eyes, sucking his ability to look away from them. They were just so mesmerizing compared to the dark brown eyeballs in his village.

Kurenai's voice carried the comfort of a mother. "We will not kill you; we just need some information from you." To the farmer, her voice made him craved the heavenly dripping of honey for his thirsty throat.

"Information? I don't know anything, please, let me go back to my family," yelled the man. He was shaking, thinking the worst possible outcome. To the farmers of his village, ninjas were vile beings, terrorizing their lifestyle.

Kurenai caressed the small trail of hair on the man's jawline, stroking the fine strands in a circular motion until she reached the chin. Then, her thumb traveled upwards to his lower lip, and she wiped across the surface with a heated touch. She whispered again with that calming honey voice, "don't worry. You will not be harm. We will let you go back to your family. We just you to answer our questions."

His irises moved around, trying to think what kind of questions they needed from a simple farmer. But if those ninjas needed questions, he could get out alive and reunite with his family. Questions are easier than torture he had heard ninjas were capable of. The Iwa ninjas were so ruthless and feared from the tales other people and travelers spoke when they come into his modest village. "What kind... of questions?" His voice broke because he was still dazed at this alluring woman before him.

Kurenai made a nanosecond blink and smirk that the man couldn't follow, knowing she got the man's trust and removing her hand from his face. "One of my question is do you have any idea how your leader's sword works? My partner tried to hold your leader's sword, and she was knocked unconscious."

His pupils diluted, and his mouth trembled as scared whines came out occasionally. "What! Why would you touch that demonic sword?! One of the men before the campaign started tried it, and it killed him!" His body was quivering as that horrible scene came back. It was during one of the few moments their leader had left his sword, and the foolish man had grabbed it because of a dare. It was as if a tempest coursed through the man because unnatural bolts were coming out the body. It took three long minutes for the man to stop twitching. His burned boy fell apart when it dropped to the ground, only the head remained near the sword. When their leader came back, he did not cringed and kicked the head away to get to his sword.

Kurenai was losing the man to his memory.

She needed to calm him down. She cupped his face with both her hands, gently sliding her fingers into his hair. Then, she whispered comforting words, "no one. No one is going to hurt you. I can guarantee you." She moved closer as she let the man sob on her shoulder. Hopefully, the falling leaves and her steady heart can relax the poor man.

A few minutes went by with just the two of them waiting in silence. He pulled away from the woman. This woman was not really going to hurt him, and she helped him with his trauma. He solemnly uttered, "thank you."

"No worries. Forgive me for asking that question. However, I need to ask you some other questions," pleaded Kurenai. Seeing him nodded, her plan to get him talk was complete. Before long, the farmer spilled any information she could get out of the man.

Meanwhile, her two male comrades were watching over their junior ninja. If she did not moaned or uttered curses, the two males would have not believe she was still alive: Her ashen skin dulled against the sun, her body was stiff like a marionette, and her heat slowly wavered between minutes. Guy stated, "what do you think happened to her, Kakashi?" His usual mirth was weakened, more concern with the ninja before him.

Kakashi scanned around her person. He only saw the visible wound on her arm, and there were no other dramatic wounds besides the normal scratches from getting blown away and slamming into the ground. He examined the wound further by lifting her hand up to his face, and he sniffed the hazard area of her hand. The unmistakable odor of burned flesh assaulted his heightened sense. "These marks are from chakra forcefully inserted into her," concluded Kakashi, pointing at the effected wound.

Kakashi gave Guy her hand. "You mean like the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist?" asked Guy, getting closer to the inspection. He eyed the jagged edges and unexpected mix of clear patterns of chakra marks and chakra circles that spilled outward. "Although, the Gentle Fist is far more precise and elegant than this brutal style. My flaming student, Neji, has such a beautiful form that it even makes me so envious. Through, I want to fight against his uncle. Just imagine the techniques the man has in his disposal. It would be a sin on my part not to fight against the pinnacle of the Gentle Fist!" Guy yelled excitingly as the bout he could have with the clan head.

Kakashi snapped his fingers repeatedly and said, "Guy, I know your obsession with fighting different taijutsu styles; however, this is not the time for that right now."

"Ah," groaned Yuugao loudly. She opened only one eye as the sun was disorienting her mind. One of her eardrums was throbbing as if someone was screaming. "Did anyone say something about fighting against the Hyuuga clan," questioned Yuugao, "and where is Kurenai-san? Where is the weapon?" When she was coming back to reality, she thought she was going insane when she heard those words. She knew they were on a mission, so why should they fight the Hyuuga clan?

She heard a strained chuckled from Kakashi. "At least, we discovered one of Guy's special skills," spoke Kakashi as he helped Yuugao up because he saw Guy would say something about his response, "Kurenai is out getting the information we need from the person she got, and the weapon is here" She nodded towards Kakashi, who held a small container full of dust, while she stretched, trying to identify any major injuries she got. As a whole, she only had minor problems nothing a good rest cannot handle.

The only pain she felt was in her hand when she stretched, she analyzed her hand. Using her knowledge of medical jutsu, her painless hand glowed green, and she tried healing her corrupted one. While she got the surface wounds to disappear, she couldn't feel her chakra flowing into her hand. "I can't mold any chakra," stated Yuugao, focusing on getting chakra there. She, however, could moved her fingers and clenched them into a fist.

Both of the males regarded her, and Kakasi asked, "can you still use your sword?" He tossed rocks at her gently. She confirmed she still had her techniques when she unleashed her swords to gracefully cut the rocks into square bits without getting any rubble on her. "Good, we will haste up our plan, and get there by dawn to observe any changes from their regular formation from what Kurenai got."

As if his order summoned the genjutsu mistress, Kurenai, like a forest nymph coming out to play, emerged to their clearing with the farmer, following behind her. Kakashi turned away from the sight when he heard an annoying snapping sound at his ear. He saw that smug smirk Guy was spotting, and he gritted his teeth, knowing he was going to get another of Guy's talks after the mission. Kakashi preferred to talk much, much later.

Kurenai walked towards him and explained the fine details of formation and security format she arranged from the clatter of the farmer. "Before we set to the palace of the warlord, I promise him to return to his home. Any volunteers?" She did the most tenuous gaze at Kakashi, not enough three fully trained ninjas could pick it up.

Guy ran up to the duo of Kurenai and the farmer, and he yelled, "yosh! I will carry him to the ends of the earth! We will be there in two hours!"

All the people presented grimaced, even the farmer, who knew the distance was normally a two day walk, and Kakashi commented, "no one here can make it there in two hours."

"Why must you doubt and diminish my burning desire to show everyone my power of youth!" cried Guy.

"We will head out soon from this place. We have to travel though the night to get close to our destination," commanded Kakashi, totally ignoring any remarks from his 'rival.'

* * *

There was one sitting person watching the sinking sun nearby a pond. He was slouched over with his knees up to his chest and his arms folded around like a child crating for love. His eyes were searching for any meaning towards why his mother loved watching the sun around this time. It was dreary, and it would fade on the horizon, tempting the darkness of a window's black veil to devour any other lights that wanted togrow.

It was too much because it remembered him of his mother. His mother's hugs, kisses, and smiles were slowly fading away from his memories. However, this was the only way his mind could remember his mother. To hear her addicting laughter, to touch her comforting hands, to taste her homemade food, to smell her flowery perfume, and to see her face when she saw him, this was the only way for him.

He moved away from the most powerful existence in the world setting, from the hues it gave to the world, and from the warmth it provided to the world. He couldn't take it anymore.

He walked to his solitary fortress. It would be drive away any feeling he was having. All he needed was to get stronger, nothing else matter. Stronger than that demon that destroyed his family.

When he locked the entrance, he rested his head on a center pillar, the most supportive structure in his apartment. Then, he pounded his head against the concrete. His headband protector blared each time the steel met with stone. Despite knowing he would have arches tomorrow, he still did it. Furthermore, he banged his fists repeatedly, scraping his skin when he dragged his knuckles down each time.

After blistering his fingers, he scowled at the blood spot. He screamed hard, saliva gushing out from his mouth. He did this for an hour, wanting to get rid of any sentiments from his body except the hatred for the reality he was living in!

Next, he went to the bathroom, needing to clean up his bleeding hands. When he looked up to the mirror after washing his wounds, he sneered and growled at his image as he saw the red strains in his eyes. He would not cry for shit! He was not some boy!

"I am an Uchiha. No Uchiha man cries! I am Uchiha Sasuke!" He continued to shout in the loneliness of his room.

* * *

The group of Guy, Kakashi, Kurenai, Yuugao, and the farmer arrived at the farmer's village during when aurora showed her delicate rays, wanting to mischievously awake any person still sleeping. The farmer, in his wildest dreams, never thought he would ever travel by hopping along tree branches even if he was being pig-backed by a rather robust ninja. He did not know how ninjas could see though the dead of night under all the unknowns creeping in his vision. Despite the quietness the ninjas utilized and monotonous blacken scenery of the forest, he did not fall asleep because he couldn't fully trust the ninjas. While he would spilled any kind of information from the inside of the palace to the security routine for the kind woman, he still did not feel safe closing his eyes for one minute.

However, seeing his home for the first time since he marched towards the Land of Fire, he weep. He ran, rupturing his cheap, wooden door, and he hugged his cooking wife. Taken back but glad her husband was back, she kissed him. He was finally back home. When he looked over to the fields, he saw no one there; the ninjas left like leaves in a breezy day.

_That woman's sweet voice ringed into his head,"From what I could understand, the castle has thirty floors. Each floor has men continuously guarding around the floor; however, there is a five minute interval for the men to switch. There is a center room on each floor which hosts the higher ranking officers. There is only one stairway which are at different corners of each floor. Barracks are outside of the castle that host the majority of the troops. From what he said, the warlord can be at any floors from the tenth floor through the twentieth floor because he alternates between those floors. Another critical information was there are hundred officers with the same weapons as that blade." _

Whatever, it was not his problem anymore. He was going to be with his family. After the farmer closed the door, he never looked around for those ninjas again.

He was just going to be a farmer and be content with his position in life because he was alive and has his family.

The ninjas remained in a tree far outside the farmer's fields or the town village."Guy and Kurenai, check the town around the castle," said Kakashi. In their distance, there was a majestic castle with outline of miniature soldiers walking. The best way for them to spy was understanding the feel of everything. Considering the town was the only one around, the situation of the villagers would give some insight if they had any loyalty towards the lord of the castle.

"No, I will scan the boundaries of the castle with Yuugao," said Guy cheekily, "before you say anything. I am much faster than you Kakashi, and my vision is better than yours. Plus it would be easier for you two to act as a couple." Although the fluster did not show in their faces, Kurenai and Kakashi constricted this eyes at Guy. Doing a three finger salute, Guy disappeared with his super speed. Yuugao nodded before following Guy.

"Well, shall we change our clothes then," said Kurenai, recovering from sudden departure act Guy and Yuugao did. She unrolled a scroll from her pouch and poured chakra. Civilian robes came out from the scroll, and Kurenai stripped her own clothes off. Of course, Kakashi did not peep when she was dressing herself because he knew there were ways for Kurenai to pulverize even thought seeing that body again was tempting.

But the mission came first, and he got out his own clothes. Unlike him, Kurenai openly glanced at his rippling muscles and physique. Honestly, he looked better in robes than he did with his ninja uniform. "Will you take off your mask at least? No civilian will walk with a mask like that," commented Kurenai.

"But this is my unique feature, Yuuhi Kurenai," humored Kakashi, "I cannot simply removed it."

She tossed him some linen. "Then wrap yourself with cloth. I'll even paint the cloth to resemble blood, so we can make it seem you were in a fight," she said as she hopped to his branch and took out a paint set. He let her aristocratic hands graced his face, and her feverish fingers edged his mask. She slipped her person though his protection and whispered, "I promise it won't hurt." He felt her manicured nails ever so slightly skinning his flesh gently until the sun's radiance touched his lips.

They were there waiting for the other to make the first move like a summer romance between a man and woman reaching its climax with a kiss. Both of their tongues graced their lips, yet they wouldn't do anything in this mission.

They were not man and woman; they were just partners.

Different from her unmasking, she finished covering Kakashi in cloth in seconds. It was a funnier sight when she started painting the cloth with the deepest red. She even changed his headband with more linen fabric. "Let's go, honey?" she giggled, dropping down from the tree.

He stared at her stunning walk and asked, "why this torment?" He shook his head before tailing after her.

When they got closer to the entrance of the village, Kakashi leaned on Kurenai and staggered his legs. He closed his eyes, letting Kurenai do what she was trained at.

"Please, anyone, help me. My...my husband was attacked! Please anyone, help us," cried Kurenai, hugging the acting man beside her tighter. She fell deliberately, so it looked like where the woman was too weak to support her battle-injured husband. She felt glee coursing through her as she heard the labored groan from Kakashi. It was partially revenge by the annoyance she felt when he called her Yuuhi Kurenai in that tone of his.

Those ideas stopped when her digits dug into the ground, leaving lines as she picked up the dirt. "Please, anyone!"

"Honey," said an elderly woman with her cane nearing her arm, "hurry, these two need help." Her vision climbed higher; however, it stopped when her eyes reached a mop of golden blonde hair of a girl. She cannot be more than eight years old, grabbing her makeshift straw bear and the sleeves of the woman. There was something unusual about this girl as Kurenai's senses were telling her, yet Kurenai couldn't detect anything ominous.

"Thank you, thank you," repeated Kurenai, pulling up Kakashi enough for the male partner of the woman to take the other side. They walked while other onlookers were scattering away from the scene.

The old woman led them into her house, glaring at anyone who wanted to stop them. The little girl got out the mat for Kakashi to continue faking his wounds. Kurenai sat near the mat, touching his forehead and said, "thank you so much. My husband had a brawl when we needed to travel to the Land of Earth by some men in armor. We escaped, but he got too injured. I have stopped most of his wounds; he just needs to rest for a bit."

The senior man made a ticking sound by slapping his tongue against his palates. "It was that senile lord of the castle again. There have been more bloody skirmishes against our neighbors. I told you, wench, that the lord was dangerous. We should have gotten out of here with Chouko when we had the chance," puffed the elder, "ah, I need a smoke." He got up as much as his weakening bones can handle and moved outside.

"Don't mind that old fool. Once you lived together with your spouse for a long time, all husbands became cranky and crazy," laughed the woman. She had taken tea for her guests. It has been quite a long time since they had this much company. Her son and daughter-in-law died during that war almost two decades back. "However, he is right. This village was peaceful until a month ago. Then, the lord started gathering all able men to join his war. Don't nobility know we don't want war?"

The beautiful black curled ninja sipped her tea, and she intertwined her fingers with her fallen husband's. She kissed the phalanxes and rubbed them against her cheek like a woman patiently waiting for her dear husband to wake up from his coma. "What happened a month ago?" asked Kurenai, finally seeing the chance to understand the origin of the threat towards her land.

The old woman whiffed the stream from her tea, the warm air filling her lungs. She begun her monologue, "It was when a storm came into this place and poured for seven days straight, ruining some of the crops the farmers grew. Then, mist started rolling in with these men of armor like devils!" Her memories were coming back to her. "Oni! An oni parade!" shouted the kind woman, emoting the same horror she witnessed, "I closed my doors and windows when those creatures came. I peeked through a hole in my blinds. I saw them with my eyes. They strolled through the castle of the lord with the mist receding from their back. Lighting and fire came from them! I had to hide in my room and in the closet." It took the old woman moments to calm down. She would have rather forget that day, but it was also the day her husband found Chouko.

Kurenai titled her head and said, "that must have been so hard for you." She had finished drinking tea when the little girl had come over and refilled it. "Thank you. You're a sweetheart. Are you Chouko-chan?" Her eyes were sucked into the violet spheres the girl had.

"Yes. Obaa-chan and Oji-chan picked me up and named Chouko Chouko," said the girl. She turned to see her grandma in the kitchen, and she stared back to the adult woman in front of her. She walked up to the ears of the pretty woman, and she fondly whispered, "your eyes look so pretty! They are like butterflies feeding on a pile of corpses which turned their wings into that color. That color is soo pretty!"

Kurenai's eyebrows tightened when she heard the girl described her eyes. With her shock, she blurted, "butterflies?" This was the first time someone had said anything like that about her eyes. What kind of butterflies feed on corpses? What has this child seen to make such a remark anyway?

Soft, slow footsteps made those questions stopped as the grandma came back with a tray full of sweets. "Oh, I see you found the reason why that old fool name her Chouko. I still cannot believe how that man still found her. He said he found her when he followed ten butterflies apparently calling him to where Chouko was in the road. Despite being a grumpy old man, he is still the same romantic heroI fell in love with," she said tenderly. Coming back from her first days being courted by her husband to reality, the woman asked, "how did you two meet? And when did you know you two were in love." Those were simple, innocent questions most couples asked another couple.

The sudden pressure in her hand indicted Kakashi was still listening to them. She sighed in relief when she squeezed back on his firm flesh. "H...Honey?" coughed Kakashi. His acting as a wounded man was meticulous that he even took his time getting up from his position. He even shuttered his speech, "h-honey, what are these people doing here." Even the amnesic response was too genuine in the untrained ear, Kurenai, however, understood what Kakashi was going to do.

She immediately checked his forehead with hers and said, "honey. Remember we were crossing the Land of Fire to the Land of Earth." She fastened her hands by placing them on top of Kakashi's. "We were robbed, and you had to act like a foolish hero against those men. You could have died," cried Kurenai, her head cuddling to the space between his neck and shoulder.

"I am sorry. I should have been thinking of you," said Kakashi, "but when they were talking about violating you like that, you know my temper."

The little girl sneezed andasked, "Chouko wants to know how did you two get out?" She rubbed the falling snot from her nose with her sleeves. Her eyes widened for wanting to hear a story.

"Well, Chouko-chan, my wife is such a spitfire. She had given them our supply carts while we ran away. However, they were not prepared for the fireworks she planted in our carts," he told the girl a brief lie. The grandma approved the censored version because there was no way she would raised this angel her husband and her got with war.

The girl had gotten up and excitedly yelled, "There were fireworks?! I want to see fireworks!"

"Darling, you know you have to use inside voice," harmlessly nagged the woman, "and it is time for your nap." She fussed the girl when their clock rung. While Chouko wanted to hear more about the fireworks, she liked her sleep time more because she never gotten when she was younger. The adults in the room saw the little girl rushing into her own room with her beat at hand. "She is such a sweet darling. She shouldn't live in a place where battles can erupt at anytime."

Her partner came back inside, but no trances of smoke clung onto his clothes. "Damn right, she shouldn't," said the man, "she deserves to grow up like a normal child. And the villagers are cowards! The lot of them! Can't see that lord wants to expand his riches instead of helpingus. Only lords want to expand; it is never us common folk. We just want to have peace."

They stayed for a couple of hours, giving enough time for Kakashi's 'wounds' to heal up. Knowing it was time for them to meet their team, Kakashi touched Kurenai on her neck. It was the signal Kurenai needed to make her move. "Thank you so much for helping my husband and I," said Kurenai, bowing down the elderly couple, "but we have to go."

"Do you really have to because it seemed Chouko is quite taken with you. Is your husband well enough?" questioned the grandma. She knew despite not knowing the two for a long time, they seemed good people.

"Yes, I am, ma'am. We do have important business to attend to in the Land of Earth," said Kakashi. He pushed his body with his arms and displayed he was able to walk without assistance. Before they left the household, the elderly couple gave them a meal that could last for three days! Kakashi and Kurenai thanked the couple as they headed off.

This was the final meeting between the ninja couple and the elderly couple. However, it was not the last time with Chouko's confrontation with Konohagakure.

When Kakashi and Kurenai walked down the natural road of the village, the villagers were closing their doors and windows with eyes filling the holes of the curtains. With their enhanced senses, they heard the shuffling of bodies. It was far different from the elders; these people were frightened by anything now. It seemed like what the man said was true, they were scared of war brewing and coming towards the their tranquil village.

After escaping from the inquisitive scowls from the villagers, both the experienced ninjas moved away with the Body Flicker. When they neared the tree, they spotted Yuugao still focusing on her injured hand. Then, Guy shouted at them, "so what is the situation?"

"The warlord only started acquiring his forces a month ago. Considering the woman said she saw lighting and fire, there is a possibility that the officers persuaded the warlord to go to war. Most of the villagers were afraid of us, so most likely there has been attacks from others before," surmised Kakashi,"this only means we will have to complete our mission without failure."

"Yosh! I will defeat many opponents when night comes! I will show my students the power of youth!" yelled out the ever vibrant ninja., "ah, speaking of my students, thank you for letting me use your dogs to deliver their training schedule, Kakashi!"

The upper class ninja teachers understood the mission was going to last a couple of days. They did not want their young pupils to have a break especially for the newly installed genin. So in the group's rare break time, Kakashi summoned his dogs to give the nine students' own training schedule and the team exercises and formations during the night travel.

"Don't worry about it. Let's rest up since we have time," said Kakashi with his usual inhumane eye smile. They set up camp lightly because they could move out at anytime when evening came. One of the ways the group passed the time was talking about the students they had under their wings.

"So Kakashi-san and Kurenai-san, both got teams?" asked the ANBU ninja amidst the able ninjas. Yuugao had feared she would be a weak link in her team. She still had no feel with her chakra despite trying to mold for hours. She only hoped this wound heal up without any serious complications. The poison and this chakra wound were too abnormal. After the mission, she would research along with the scientists to counter what these thing were.

"Yes, how was your first day on your teams?" inquired Guy, "has your students showed their spirits?"

"I don't know about showing their spirits, Guy, but they do have the potential to become great trackers for Konoha," said Kurenai, "Aburame Shino has the makings of being level headed leader in the team. His quick, analytic mind really mend well with the personalities of Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata. Despite Kiba's rash nature and Hinata's meekness, their abilities are much valued. Oh, Akamaru, the puppy of Kiba, is very comparable with the dynamics of the team because Akamaru will develop into his senses."

"You have Hyuuga Hinata?! I am still astonished the clan lead of the Hyuuga clan allowed his only daughter to become a ninja. Just training with a main clan member makes me so wishful at learning some techniques they acquired!" exploded Guy, "but, I still like the hard nature of Neji. My students are such a delight to teach. Tenten, Lee, and Neji have such passion although I wished Tenten and Neji had the same intensity for training as I do."

"No one has the same fervency for your training as you do, but I have seen Lee doing many similar exercises," acknowledged Kakashi. Despite being unresponsive towards Guy in general, Kakashi knew Guy's team. Guy had repeatedly nodded at the statement because Lee was such a hard worker!

"But how were you able to get a Aburame and Hyuuga on one team?" Despite not being a teacher, Yuugao knew the situation of the noble clans.

"You will need to ask Kakashi considering he took Uzumaki Naruto from me," bitterly commented Kurenai. She truly liked her team; however, she saw Naruto's determination against Hinata. He was trying to stand up against the Gentle Fist of the Hyuuga. There was something inside her that wanted to train the boy because she did believe he was going to be an unstoppable force for Konoha like what Guy had stated before.

Everyone turned towards Kakashi, who was pleasantly humming a melody in spite of being completely out of tune. He inclined his head towards the side and said, "it is a rather guarded secret. Let's just say, I had an exchange of words with the Hyuuga and Aburame clans to get the student I wanted." While he said in a joyous tone, there was an underlying message of do not ask any further.

Luckily for the group, they had Guy who redirected the conversation to less serious topics. After talking for hours, they decided to rest in order to be in peak condition.

Then, the splendor of a night without the accompaniment of the moon reached throughout the sky. Her brittle touches allured many of the earthly creatures to slumber away their doubts, fears, and angst in beautiful, benign dreams. However, her touches awakened creatures of the haunting imagination. Demons feasted at this unholytime; they hunt for deviants with their desires overriding their senses.

The ninjas would become those demons that prowl at dark for their mission. Demons that prey on demons, that was the thought the ninjas presented mused about. Now, they were waiting for their partners of the night.

Suddenly, five figures moved at the sight of the demons. The demons knew there was something wrong in the arrangement with the five since there were only two of the figureshad considerable strength needed to complete this mission. It seemed the Iwa ninjas wanted the Konoha ninjas to complete their supposedly allied task themselves. "Damn it! Where are those Konoha shits?" yelled out one of the weaker members, who seemed to be the shouter of the group.

His fellow teammates had a mixed reaction. Two had agreed with the person by shouting. However, the two apparent officers in the team did not. "Are you people really that idiotic?" said a feminine voice. She had a deadly presence in her, and there was a unique droning of bees around her.

"Shut it, Kamizuru bitch! I don't even get why you are even here because your clan is weak!" said another member of the group. There was smirking and sneering by the weaker members.

In a swift motion, she grabbed the man's throat, and she nearly twisted the attachment off from the choking ninja. "I dare you say that again. At the very least, I am not some nameless moronic ninja who can't even tell the Konoha ninja are here already," said the kunoichi, "you better not forget the name of Kamizuru Suzumebachi." She let go of the suffering man. When he dropped to the ground, he moved away by using all of his able limbs like a coward.

An intense wave of intent came from the leader of the group. "Enough with the bickering. Come down Konoha ninjas, so we can plan out our attack," said the gigantic leader. He hand gestured to the ninja up in the tree before putting back his hand into his armor.

The Konoha ninjas descended from their hiding spot, surprising three inexperienced ninjas. Yuugao had her mask, and Kurenai let her hair shadow her face because they did not want to reveal themselves to the Iwa ninjas. Guy and Kakashi were too famous in the shinobi world not to be known to others. Guy was the first to extend his hand and said, "I did not expect the Crimson Spear of Iwagakure to come here."

The leader of the other team had shook Guy's hand and expressed, "It is an honor to meet you, Might Guy, in this circumstance rather than on the battlefield. However, I did not expect they would send you and the Kakashi the Copy Ninja here as well. Andplease call me Han."

Guy knew the fearsome taijutsu that the Crimson Spear possessed because he had another title which was Han of the Bloody Fists. Guy's martial artist blood was calling for a bout. Guy requested, "Han, have a bout with me?"

Despite the other ninjas not seeing risen brows as Han's straw hat conceal it, his voice explicit the same enthusiasm, "oh, what will be the conditions? Also, what about the reward? It gives the bout another layer, don't you think?"

"Yes, it does. I propose giving the winner, who defeats the most opponents, get a secret jutsu! I had personally developed a jutsu!" yelled out the green-wearing spandex ninja.

"Interesting. I'll wage an jutsu I developed as well,"said Han with a more intriguing tone.

Then, a hand shot between the two men. Kakashi interrupted, "while this is interesting, we do have a mission to accomplish first. Should we organize our attack groups?" Both the taijutsu experts nodded, letting the Copy Ninja separate their groups. The first group composed of Kurenai, Suzumebachi, and the shouter. Their purpose was to secure the lower five floors and hold off reinforcements from coming through. The second group composed of Han, Guy, and Yuugao. Their goal was fight with the first group until they reached the fifth floor, and then, they will fight their way towards the last group was Kakashi and the last two Iwa ninjas, and they would come from the roof towards the chambers of lord. Kakashi had explained this formations to the group.

"How are we going to go up the roof, mister leader?" snobby asked Kakashi's 'group mate'.

A pop erupted, and the sleek hardness of an insect face appeared before the shouter had screamed when he saw the monstrous black bee in front of him that was not emitting any sound vibrations in the wings. "By using this silent bee, it will be the quickest way for your group to do on the roof," said the Iwa kunoichi.

Kakashi, the coward, and the snob climbed on the back although the coward and snob complained at having to ride a Kamizuru creature. The bee whacked the complainer's head when it started flying. Kakashi playfully uttered, "I will join your bet." Those were his last words before the bee flew silently though the night sky.

Guy smiled and declared, "I must win this then. That last minute announcement was too cool! Let's begin our operation!" He was excite for the fight, more than the bet. The first and second groups moved out, going to the castle under the veil of a perfectly dark moonless night. The empty lamps from the village helped them move faster in the dark. It seemed like nothing was going to stop these ninjas from completing their mission.

The ninjas stood for a moment, scanning the quickest way inside the castle. Guy was about to kick his way through when the guards collapsed. His face tensed at the bleeding corpses because their veins were too prominent, and their eyes turned into black. Then, his eyes landed on the dying bees nearby the head of the guards. He saw the woman grinning and mouthing the words, "too slow."

Those words fueled an inner spirit in Guy. This was going to be fun.

For the combined strength of the two usual fighting ninja villages, the first five floors were effortless because the floor officers were not even present. Kurenai, Yuugao, the Iwa kunoichi, and the shouter did not need to waste any chakra since most of the combat came from Han and Guy. The second group kept moving towards the other floors as both Han and Guy were taking down the opposition one after the other. In the eyes of the others, the two taijutsu experts were serious on winning the bet they made.

Consequently, it made the first group's purpose easier. Furthermore for the first group, there was only one stairway leading to their current floor, and they could guard it with ease. "Boring! This is boring, man! I get stuck with the Konoha bitch and the weak Kamizuru ninja. This sucks," said the loudest person, who was laying on his ass waiting for action. The two female ninjas with their weapons ready at their hands wished they had a much quieter teammate.

"Would you shut up," said Kurenai, already fed up with the voice of the man. Her annoyance was reaching into new heights she did know she had. They were on a fucking mission! He should know not to complain in a mission this important to their villages. If he had wanted to go along with the others, he should have trained harder to reach the necessary battle skill. She would have understood if it was a D-rank mission; however, this was a high A-rank, mission unless the Iwa system is different from the Konoha system.

Suzumebachi clicked her tongue against her teeth. "I would not normally agree with a Konoha ninja, but there are always exceptions like your whining annoying voice," agreed the Iwa ninja, "how did you even become a chunin?"

"Chunin? Are you that powerful because I don't know many chunin who does an A-rank mission," inquired Kurenai. No wonder it seemed the only two of the Iwa ninjas seemed to be experienced.

"I'm a chunin," declared the bug ninja. In her mind, there was a red flag when the rather beautiful woman said A-rank. She questioned, "this is only suppose to be a C-rank mission?!"

Then, sensing something wrong, she checked her relay bugs system. Her relay was set up with her bees at various points in the previous floor. Her bees would alert her to any incoming soldiers, yet when she called forth her bees, there was no answer at all. Concluding the enemy was already here, she yelled, "everyone jump!"

Except, the more fledgling chunin jumped too late. Multiple spears pierced the floor, and one of them went right through the leg of the man. The attack was, however, not finished as the blade of the spear started rotating violently. It only meant the man's leg blew up into pieces from the nerves, bones to the muscles and fat becoming little projectiles. The two females dodged and deflected the human pieces.

The man screamed, "what the fuck!" All his thoughts were on his ruined leg, yet he couldn't move away from spot near the hole he was attacked by. His nerves were not following what his mind was thinking as electrical shocks were dispensing throughout his body. He needed to get away! He ripped the insides of his mouth, trying to overwhelm his brain back to normal functions. Feeling the nerves coming back under his control, he ferociously crawled to the women, dragging the strength draining limb, or what is left of it, with his.

Too bad for him, several builds jumped out of the holes, making his escape from danger impossible. He could hear the snickers from the foes that filled his body with chilliness. He pushed himself harder, trying to claw his way to safety. A foot stomping on his back made him stop from advancing forward. He was crying as he tried struggling against that dominant foot. It failed when he felt himself stabbed through his heart by a needle sword injection.

His last impression of the world were the females staring not at him but his murderers through his tearful vision. He did not want to be remembered as a weak chunin; he wanted to be a personal guard of the Tsuchikage! It was his dream!

However, the energy of life was released from the container it has been living in, leaving a hallow dream would continue to be a faraway ambition.

"Man! I thought we were feared more!A weakling ninja would not satisfy my hunger!" said man who finished off the poor Iwa ninja. It seemed the man was a higher rank than the others as they moved in front of him, almost guarding with their bodies for his safety.

Kurenai barely glanced at her dying 'teammate' since they were six men in front of her, and it was far too late for her to save him. If Yuugao had been here, she could have saved the man from bleeding out because her medical technique was the greatest in the Konoha group.

The pale rays from unsteady embers from the lamps gleamed against those demonic blood-strained armor. The hallway they were in shined with the human liquid hue. This floor would become their battleground. She knew they needed to defend this position for the rest of their team and the success of the mission.

When those men dined their eyes at the man they killed, she had used one of her quicker activated genjutsu. And like magic,her body faded from the scene before multiple petals assaulted the group of armored men. The men stood still at the display, thinking the petals couldn't hurt them with all the protection they had over their bodies. Those men did not realize they were stuck in an illusion when their bodies were just standing _oh so still_.

Then, she quickly did hand seals for another technique. While she was predominantly known for being an genjutsu expert, she knew a various amount of ninjutsu as well: She couldn't always rely on genjutsu especially on high rank missions. "_Fire Release: Dancing Blaze_," yelled out Kurenai. The once limp fragments of flame in the lamps roared with strength, melting their confines. Like performers in a festival, the flames erupted swirling around the unsuspecting men.

When the men felt the discomfort, they became aware of the predicament they were in. Their armors, the items they thought would protect them, became their downfall as the heat made them perspiration profusely, and before long, the scorching metal burned through their skins. Most of the men collapse, slowly suffering and waiting for death to come towards them.

Kurenai's technique was dispelled when a cold gust sweep through the surroundings. The leader and one of the goons survived and released their weapons. "Fuck, you fat ass oaf, get up here!" ordered the leader.

A mammoth hand appeared from the holes, and the glaring eyes creep up to the floor. With one push, the behemoth growled, "ain't no oaf!" He grumbled as he lifted his spear up. The women had to dodged when the spear wielder thrust his lance on them, and they landed at a distance they thought was safe. Considering his massive size, he was incredibly agile when he was ramming his body towards them at an unnatural speed, he was also reckless because he was continuously slashing or thrusting thin air in his way.

"Use the revolver, you dumbfuck! Those are ninjas, not some villagers we toyed around with before!" yelled the needle sword user. He was becoming annoyed that the oaf was even comparable with the spear. If he had that weapon, he would be running around and feeding his stomach with the screams and pains of villagers around here. He had to be comparable with a stabbing sword that can't cut of limbs! He loved the sensation of freshly cut limbs with the blood running down his sword; it was ecstasy!

The behemoth screamed, and concentrated bolts came out as the blade of the lance spun. Unlike the previous times when he swung his weapon, there was lighting bolt heading zinging towards them. Then, a discharge stemmed off the bolt, hitting Suzumebachi on the abdomen.

She dissolved into lilliputian bees, and like missiles, they honed on the fine spaces between the armor. There was a wide distance between the layer of protection and the skin that it was simple for the bees to strike their poison needles onto the body. In Kurenai's mind, the Iwa ninja's style was reminiscent of Shino's quick effectiveness and wasting no move against adversaries.

Kurenai knew the standing man was already died, but it gave her an opening towards the people behind him. Kurenai used the dead body to hide her movements. When she heard the leader making another command, she released kunai with explosive tags on them. The person next to the leader used his weapon, a sort of broadsword with a curved edge, and water appeared as the man slashed the air before the kunai, making them useless. There was no sense of empathy along those men when the broadsword user did several slashes, all forming water slices and dissecting the burned men on the ground.

She dodged it while the spear user she was using as a coverwas torn into portions. She had a kunai in each of her hands ready to face off against the weapon users. When the man with the water instrument was about another wave, bees of the Kamizuru clan swarmed on the man. Instead of his initial plan, the man slammed his sword down creating a sphere of water against the insects, drowning the bugs.

When he released his guard, he subconsciously smirked. It was going to be too late for those women once he got to them. He couldn't wait until he got those bodies as his drool was slipping away his lips.

It was too late.

For him.

Kurenai had leaped towards the broadsword user when he lowered his guard while throwing her left kunai at the needle sword user. Then,using her left arm, she took off the demon mask, and she stabbed the man between his eyes with her other kunai. She slid her weapon all the way until only the circular handle was the only thing visible. Furthermore, she twisted the handle, rupturing the insides of the head.

Seeing all his men died by female ninjas, the needle-sword user was not going to risk his life for the person who gave their merry band of outlaws weapons of power. He loved his life more than dying, thank you very much!

He was going to make his escape by jumping the nearest hole. Indeed, it would have been a great plan if it was not for the bees breaking out of the holes like geysers. He used the powers within his sword to get rid of the flocking swarm around her. Yet, three bees replaced one he had killed! He was paralyzed by the bees circling around him. Those insects were not bees anymore; they were wolves in his eyes. Moreover, near his ear a voice frosty commented, "I can't wait! I am going to have fun finding out who gave you those weapons."

Kurenai would defend from invaders while her partner get some information from them.

Meanwhile, the second group was having a much fairer time. At least, no members died at the moment.

Yuugao was awed by the might the two men she was with. No wonder, both men had renown titles around the ninja world. Single punches rendered men useless, elbow strikes stunned men, knee uppercuts knocked out men to the floor, and body kicks blew away men to the wall.

They were already nearing the sixteenth floor, yet the two were not showing any signs of stopping. She did not even need to be there because both men were taking out enemies.

Yet, her negative thoughts were making her grimace pronounced despite her mask screening her face as they had not encounter a great number of officers or even the warlord. The opponents they had were only footmen. She had a dispiriting feeling in her guts, and she trusted her guts now.

If she only had followed what her senses told her before, Iruka would have not been traumatize for years when his best friend stabbed him through the chest, and their teacher would have survived because she did not have used a forbidden technique to save them.

That mission was what made her joined the special forces of Konoha because she wanted to hunt down that bastard. The blade resting near her hip was stirring as if the weapon felt her emotions going haywire. Or was the blade yielding to murder the man as well because of what he did to its previous owner, she hoped her blade was feeling the same.

He betrayed Konoha! He betrayed the team! He betrayed their teacher and Iruka! But more importantly, he betrayed her! Because of him, several hundred of promising genin died! It was her fault that young lives were extinguished before their time. She was going to atone their souls with his death and bringing back his head to the Hokage.

She came back to reality when yells startled her, grabbing her immediate attention. Ten men were fanatically brandishing their sickles at her. They were probably farmers like the man Kurenai captured. She pitied them, but she had a job to do. Unlike their unpolished stances and wavering, she has been training as a sword master since she got her teacher's legacy in her hands.

Her blade movements were swift and flowing like a dancer. Each step she took was on-point, swirling her blade gracefully like a performance instead of a slaughter. In her eyes, the men were in slow motion as she slashed through their armor effortlessly. She zoned on the cracks she saw, and she decapitated the men who were not wearing their helmets.

She back flipped when two men were behind her. Like a midnight dancer arching her body like the moon, she buried her blade down through the spine of one of the men. In addition she used her legs to hold the other man by the neck, she landed with her arms. Then with all the force her body can muster, she took down the man to the ground using another flip. Before the guy could groan out, she snapped off the tenuous bone connection of the neck.

By the time she was finished with her group of aggressors, Guy and Han was done with the entire floor. Both men did not even look worn out, and they seemed to be enjoying the fighting.

As they climbed the stairs to the sixteenth floor, a strange cluster of sudor was forming around near her brows. Her legs were oddly quivering each time she took that step higher. She hasn't felt this amateurish reaction in the longest time. There was an intense pressure on the floor. "It is fine, Yuugao-san," said Guy, "this is not from those men. This is from Kakashi." His voice help diminished those sensations she couldn't control from coming out.

She nodded. She was glad Guy had calmed her because an array of high jutsu attacks came towards the group. They had quickly dodged the attacks by the Body Flicker technique. The floor was much different from the layout of the other floors. Namely, the walls of the center room was torn down with men filling the area. There was about seventy men presented within the wide floor.

Most of the men laughed with one taunting, "I thought ninjas were suppose to be tough! Those three looked like idiots!" Another flourish of provocations came about. They jested and sneered at the ninjas, thinking they were original ninjas and too scared to move.

They shrieked savagely when a javelin came bursting though and impaling five men: The javelin carried those men all the way out of the castle's way. They gawked at the similar looking man in the ninja group; their eyes traveled along the arms to spot another spiraled handled red javelin with two prongs resting in his hand.

As Han threw the other pronged weapon at another five men, the eructation of battle cries came forth, immersing all in the floor to fight for their lives. The nearest people from Han had jumped, thinking without his weapons he would not be a match for them. But their crushed faces told another story for the rest of people thinking of going against Han. His impressive height, unfaltering physique, and the calmness of killing the men made at least five more men trembled, making them useless in the fight.

A great number of men changed who they were going to onslaught towards the only unarmed man. But once again, Guy became a great plunging meteor. His fists were steel of the finest blades crafted, equaling in strength of the swords coming at him. His body was stone of the greatest impenetrable fortress, resisting the blunt forces of clubs. His feet were flames of the most tumultuous volcano, releasing fiery furies on the crowding armed men.

The remaining men saw their numbers and knew they would not win against these trained assassins even with their unnatural weapons at their disposal. The farthest enemies ran away, climbing up the stairs to reach the safe room the warlord built on the eighteenth floor in case of any attacks came to his caste.

However, a crushing earthquake broken throughout the castle. The quaking came from the upper portions of the castle. The people climbing those stairs were probably the most unluckiest humans ceilings broke off and fell down, smothering them but not killing them instantly.

The ninjas had moved away from the center, seeing it was going to be the most affected area. They were right; the devastating area was on the center with the ceiling bending before breaking. The bars, hanging and supporting the ceiling, cracked, splinting shards on the men; the chandeliers, the lights once illuminating the space, burned the last flames; and the material formation was crumbling away like aging hills from too much erosion.

The most terrifying object for the eyes of the men was the single outline of a man holding something in his hand. As the dust cleared up and shaking of the ground stopped, the soldiers glared at their fallen warlord's head. They saw the remaining muscles still pulsing and blood still dipping while the spine cord was attached to the head. All the men knew how that happened!

It only happens when a person ripped the head away from the body without breaking the tender linkage of bones.

The outlaws had the same thought currently going through their minds. They were only dressing up in a grandeur outfit, only pretending to be demons: They were not those destructive brutes even with the chaotic treasures in their possession. They were not in the same league as monsters!

They wanted to run away from the real monsters. There was no way for any normal human being to stand up against those wretched demons they had mocked before! They were doomed to died in this place!

And so they did.

The ninjas spared no one within the perimeter, killing the last of the men with great ferocity. After the last screams faded, the four ninjas stood in silence with the blood spreading at every corner and nooks of the room. They only stood there without bothering on making any emotion at the massacre they had created with their hands. This was their job as trained assassins.

It was Han who broke the quietness after the battle, "has the two chunin with you perished?" Not seeing the two ninjas with the famous Konoha ninja, Han had to assume the worst outcome.

When he had accepted this mission, he did not expect for a whole team to come with him. Most of the time, he had done his missions alone since the very village he grew up in hated him. Ninjas and civilians alike mocked and ridiculed without considering him as human. He took all the words of malice, actions of agony, and deeds of animosity from those people and turned it into strength he needed to survive.

Despite the success of the mission, it was a personal failure for him to lose two prospective ninjas for the Iwa forces. It would undoubtedly cause more tension for his place in the village.

Kakashi, his eye closed, nodded while taking out two headbands from his pouch. "They had died like true ninjas," spoke Kakashi without any disturbance in his voice. However seeing the clutching fists around the Iwa symbols, Han knew what the Copy Ninja said was the truth. He did not think the former student of the Fourth Hokage could feel quasi respect towards the Iwa village.

Han took the items, grappling Kakashi's hand. "Thank you for getting these. At the very least, they would not suspect our ninjas of killing their lord," said the Crimson Spear of Iwagakure,"Now should we go back to where group one is?" They motioned their heads for the approval although the masked silver-haired ninja stood still.

Kakashi had tossed the head he was holding with the rest of his 'men.' The lord was just a poor, senile fool that became greedwith his old age. He had lost his family during the Third Shinobi War, and he wanted revenge against those involved. His final words were, "I subjected them my will! They gave their word they will burn all of the villages! They will end the existence of ninjas! I will gladly burn a thousand deaths to see your scum vanish from the world!"

Kakashi wondered what kind of monsters gave their word to that man to destroy ninjas. Should he tell this to Hokage-sama?

The ninjas quickly left the site of the devastation, and they had arrived at a rather particular sight when they stepped into the floor where the first group was. Suzumebachi had a stripped man pinned by harden wax with multiple bumps around skin of the man although the man was twitching. Her insects were floating around, swirling in a seamlessly motion around the area. There was a smirk on her face, clearly enjoying what she was doing to the man.

"I know you can tell me more. I already know your gang of outlaws went to this desperate warlord, who wanted to expand his sphere of influence; however, the question still remains which is give me the name of the person who gave you those weapons?" said the kunoichi in a high pitched voice almost like a girl's. She was twirling her kunai around her fingers and picking the dirt off her nails with it as well. Then, she walked up to the man and traced the body lines he has with her kunai. "Why don't you tell me?" she asked again.

He spat out, "I don't know anything more! Someone just gave us those weapons! Then order us to go to this fucking place with him along. Then, he talked with the stupid lord! That's all I know! Please, fucking kill me already! God! I can't handle this pain anymore! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!" He chanted over and over again. The torture he endured was too much! He couldn't even feel anything anymore. All he knew even if he survived this horror, it would haunt him forever! He rather die now! He couldn't even touch the trigger to activate the venom near his tooth.

Instead of killing him instantly, Suzumebachi used her bees to make the wax slowly spread around the man, capsulizing him in golden crystal cage. The ninjas saw the man exhaling his breath, fogging the clear surface of the cage he was in. Slowly and slowly, his breathing lessen until he closed his eyes and resigned to his fate.

Then, Suzumebachi stabbed the harden glass, breaking it apart. Each fragment of glass had a small piece of the dead man. She turned towards the group and simply stated, "All I was able to get out of him was he was part of a group of outlaws that the warlord had been trying to suppress in his land. Then, one day out of nowhere a man with a hooded cape who gave them those weapons. Of course, the man proved the power of the weapons by testing it on some of the outlaws. But those were the only things I could get out of him."

"That is similar what the warlord said before he died," said Kakashi, "should we burn the castle now?" All the ninjas looked at him questionably. "It will be much easier for people to believe a fire broke out in the castle killing the forces instead of ninjas coming in. Plus, it is far simpler for our leaders to send in aid," he humored the group.

"Never thought I will agree with a Konoha ninja a second time today," commented the Iwa kunoichi, who seemed much happier than before. Kakashi had looked at Kurenai, who merely shrugged the glance. The high class ninjas took their places and released a torrid of flames. Watching the roaring fire come to live and spread throughout the room meant it was time for the ninjas to make their trances disappear.

They arrived rapidly at their first meeting ground as the castle exploded into an engulfing tower of flame, shining and standing proudly at the cold darkness of the night. "Come rest, my fellow friend!" shouted Guy towards the remaining Iwa ninjas. "Don't be shy! It would do good for the body to recover!" He was not overly concern if the Iwa ninjas thought he was crazy; he was being a gentlemanly person towards fellow teammates on a mission. Their group had already set up camp while Yuugao was heating the meal Kakashi and Kurenai had gotten. There was enough food to share with others!

The pair, unexpectedly, did come over and sat down to rest. It was quite a distance between here and their village, so resting would be beneficial even if it was only for a few minutes. "Thank you for having us," politely said Han, sitting down while being serviced with food was honestly quite strange. Han looked around, noting everyone, who survived, was there besides Kakashi.

"Don't worry about it! Your spirit burns wonderfully, and I know this because we have shared a battle together!" said Guy loudly, saying it with a smile and grin, disturbing most normal and rational minds.

However, Han only laughed because he had enjoy seeing another taijutsu master fight. It was a gut-wrenching laughter as his head titled back. He stopped and said, "speaking of sharing a battle. We had shared another thing, but I do believe the Copy Ninja had more kills than me." Han had taken out a scroll from his armor and placing it with the green spandex wearing ninja.

"My eternal rival is very frustrating that way! He had won this easily," commented Guy. The women looked at them with the unspoken question of how do they know this. The wild ninja said, "it is because we sense his raging pressure with our martial spirits." The females just dubbed what Guy was saying as a guy thing. It was a small meeting that would shape the relationship between Iwagakure and Konohagakure.

After talking and resting for a bit, both Han and Suzumebachi said their farewells. Kurenai had gotten up walking towards the bee user and said, "it was an honor fighting alongside a Kamizuru member."

There was a faint of a smile and a slight closing of her eyes, softening the roughness in her features. She said, "of course, the blood of the First Tsuchikage runs through my clan and in me." She extended her hand which Kurenai met with her own.

As Han and Suzumebachi were traveling, Han asked, "you must be glad you completed the mission." He knew the mission had more importance for the Kamizuru kunoichi. Her clan was not even recognized in the village like him, and the Third Tsuchikage had requested for the strongest Kamizuru. When he first met her she had the forehead protector on her, he concluded this might be one of the plans the village leader had in his mind.

She muttered, "I will bring back glory and recognition to my clan."

In the garment of the moonless night, Han had wondered if the village was even capable of recognizing them.

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**Hello, thanks for reading this project of mine. The reason why I updated this story faster was I looked at my February schedule, and this is only time I could update in the early weeks of February.**

**Btw if you guys can totally review, please do so. Reviews totally help in precise words if this story is decent or what, but yeah, reviews are awesome... Also since I am introducing one of the main diverging points, I really want to know what you guys think about it, which is through reviews and pms, so please just tell me. Again also, this is unbeta'd, so do point out any mistakes I might have done.  
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